Edwin-tale
by Bakaforhire
Summary: With no memory of how he got there, Frisk has to work together with another kid to survive(and maybe save) the underground. But how can they do that if they can't reset and the other kid is less smarter (and way stronger) than them? (Prequel to Doki Eddy Literature Club)
1. Ruins Act 1

Long ago, there were two races that ruled the Earth.

One made from magic, the other made from clay.

They both lived a turbulent peace with each other for millenniums.

Until one day, war broke out between the two races.

After an arduous series of battles the one's of the clay were victorious.

And sealed the race of magic underground with an ancient seal.

The location of where they were sealed and how they were sealed were lost to time.

Until the past couple of years when mysterious disappearances started being reported.

All the victims being children.

And all of them last seen climbing an abandoned hiking trail that leads around the summit of Mt. Ebott.

Another child was spotted going up the trail.

This would be the seventh.

If a fresh-faced Auxiliary worker wasn't sent there to intercept.

Now he and the child are the seventh and eighth.

 **Edwin-tale**

 **Ruins - Act 1**

A small dripping noise, and a distant glow of the sunlight miles above were the only sources of change in the damp dark cavern that surrounded a small patch of yellow flowers. In the middle of this patch laid a boy who wore a white and red striped shirt, a green jacket, dark blue jean shorts, and black shoes. On top of the boy was a smaller child also wearing a striped shirt but with blue and purple instead. The child also wore matching blue pants, small black boots, and an old bandage on their hand.

"Urgh," The child shuddered as they slowly rose their head. "What's that smell?"

They opened their doey auburn eyes to the source and a few seconds later yelled out in surprise. This in turn woke their pillow.

"Awaken my Masters!" The boy yelled as he jumped up. The movement sent the child rolling backward. The boy blinked and rubbed the back of his head. He then looked up. "Whoah big hole."

The child had a look of pure bewilderment as they rose up to their feet. They pulled a small stick from their pocket and held it like a make-shift sword. But this didn't do much other than cause the boy to tilt his head like a curious dog. "Wh-who are you?" They asked as they slightly trembled.

The boy's green eyes met the child and he gave a dopey grin. "I'm Ed! Bringer of Bacon. Who are you?"

The child was hesitant but they didn't see anything that told them that their new friend was dangerous. So they lowered their stick. "F-frisk," The child answered. "A-are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Ed answered putting a hand to his chest before a low growl responded. "Ok, a little hungry."

Frisk slightly pinched their cheek. Gears were running in their head. "Ed, do- you remember how we got here?"

"We fell," Ed pointed up.

Frisk sweated. "Y-yes yes we did, but do you know what happened before that?"

Ed looked in thought. "Did we make a pact with the Lord of Iron Shavings from the Movie "I Only Need One Dirk"?"

"I- I don't believe we did," Frisk murmured after a moment of internal failure to comprehend.

"Then no," Ed lowered his hands and rose to his feet. "Why?"

"I- haven't been able to talk in forever," Frisk shook their head. "B-but now I can."

"Is that bad?" Ed wondered.

Frisk didn't have an answer for this. The simple act of talking wasn't a tell that something was wrong they figured. The addition of a new friend notwithstanding.

"Let's just- get out of this cave," Frisk rubbed the back of their head. "Maybe we can find someone with food."

"Ok!" Ed saluted and the two walked down the only way that led out of the opening.

Through a columned opening was another clearing with a singular yellow flower in the middle.

As the fallen got closer the flower grew a small smiling face.

"Howdy!" The flower greeted. "I'm Flow-"

"MANDRAKE!" Ed yelled tackling his cohort. Frisk cried out as they hit the floor. "Cover your ears Frisk!"

"So smelly~" Frisk spoke woozily underneath the boy attempting to cover their ears. The flower instead of being offended started laughing.

"It's ok human, I'm not a Mandrake," The flower reassured between chortles. "I'm just a happy little flower."

"That's what they all say," Ed yelled covering his own ears, than panicked and covered Frisk's then panicked again and returned his hands to his.

"Golly, and here I thought you needed help," the flower smirked. "Guess you don't need me then."

The flower was about to burrow when Frisk squeaked out. "W-wait!"

With a wiggle Frisk got out from under Ed. "Sorry about that. W-we actually do need help, do you know where we are?"

"Of course I do," The flower answered swaying back and forth playfully. "You two are in the Underground."

"Underground?" The two humans answered simultaneously.

"I can tell by your faces you haven't heard the legends," The flower giggled. "The Underground is where Monsters live."

"Monsters?" The humans returned.

"Wowie, I'm glad I stayed, you guys haven't a clue," The flower danced. "Don't worry you'll see soon. Until then though, do you want me to teach you how things work down here?"

Frisk looked at Ed, he looked interested as they are. "Eh, sure."

"Oh good, this will be fun. Let's start with names," The flower started. "My name's Flowey, Flowey the Flower."

"I'm Ed," Ed waved getting up again with a grin.

"A-and I'm Frisk," Frisk gave a small smile.

"Well then Ed and Frisk, let's begin," Flowey cheered.

And like a match blown out all of the surrounding area turned black in a flash. Save for a box-like arena surrounded by a white almost translucent barrier. Inside this barrier stood a very disoriented Ed and outside the barrier was Flowey.

"I am dizzy," Ed guffawed shaking his arms to stay balanced. He napped out of it when he realized he was alone. "Frisk?"

"Ed?" Ed heard Frisk talk in his head. "W-where are you? I can't see anything."

"Don't worry, don't worry," Flowey reassured. "Nothing bad has happened, I just created a FIGHT arena. It's a little pocket dimension where Monster FIGHTs happen. Less messy that way."

"Why is Frisk in my head?" Ed asked. "Am I psychic now?"

"Don't worry so much about that, look down at yourself," Flowey commanded.

Ed obliged. "Oh wow, way cool!" Ed found that his body looked like a hollow shell with a red heart in the middle.

"That heart represents the souls of both you and Frisk, the essence of your very beings," Flowey instructed. "As such, only strong hearts can make it down here. And yours, well-"

"How do we get stronger Flowey-sensei?" Ed asked with intrigue.

"I'm glad you asked," Flowey smiled warmly. "Only hearts with lots of LOVE can be strong."

Frisk felt uneasy just from hearing the tone in Flowey's voice. "Ed, I don't like the sound of this."

"It's ok Frisk, Love never hurt no body," Ed consoled the child in his mind. He then turned back to Flowey.

"And since I want to show how helpful I want to be to you. I'll give some LOVE for free," Flowey winked. Then with a small movement of his petals small white pellets started floating around him. "Ta-da~ these friendliness pellets should be enough to help you get to where you need to be."

"No no Ed, I really don't like where this is going," Frisk spoke out. However Ed was eyeing the pellets with delight.

"Ok Ed, be sure to grab as many as you can," Flowey cheered sending the pellets flying through the barrier.

"Itadakimasu!" Ed grinned running at the pellets.

"Ed! No!"

At Ed's touch the pellet exploded and the barrier wobbled from the blast. Flowey howled in laughter as the other pellets exploded in tandem. "You idiot!" Flowey howled as a sadistic grin overrode his regular smile. "Didn't your mom ever tell you not to accept things from strangers?"

The smoke from the pellets dissipated leaving behind an Ed writhing on the floor. Clutching his head as Frisk's pained crying radiated through his body.

"F-frisk I-i'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Ed whimpered. Their souls vibrated wildly against his body.

"Still alive friends?" Flowey teased. "They say LOVE hurts but wow you really sell it."

At this Flowey felt something- familiar in the barrier. Something cold. Ed lowered his hands from his head and slowly rose to his feet. Flowey expected the boy to scowl or cry but the Ed-boy had only a blank expression on his face.

"Yeah, that's right," Flowey laughed. "You hate me now don't you Ed?"

Ed slowly walked to the barrier between them.

"Good, now you get it."

Ed balled up his right hand.

"In this world-"

With a swift movement Ed punched the barrier, the bellowed out but bounced back into shape.

" **It's Kill-"**

Another punch this one sent the barrier out more.

 **"or be Killed.** "

Ed gave out another punch but this time instead of bouncing back into shape the whole square minimized suddenly. Until it only gave enough room for Ed to stand. The sudden rush sent Ed to his knees as his expression softened.

"I've stalled long enough," Flowey chuckled. "Ed and Frisk, it was a pleasure to meet you."

Flowey danced and petals surrounded the cube on all sides. Ed didn't even acknowledge it as he placed a trembling hand over his chest. A feeble attempt to protect his new friend.

"Goodbye."

Flowey laughed wildly as the petals started closing the distance like a slow venus fly trap. Savoring his opportunistic deed he was laughing so loud he didn't hear a woman's voice pierce the darkness.

 **Burn despair to ashes:** **Bergentrückung!**

 **True Flame Veil!**

Just as soon as the petals met the box a wide plume of fire engulfed the box in a near blue flame. This flame incinerated the petals leaving Flowey to blankly watch as his free souls slipped through his grasp. Flowey started to turn to where the flame came from only to be sent flying by a small orange wisp. With its caller sent out, the darkness fragmented and broke apart, filling the area with light.

The last thing Ed saw before passing out was a purple figure with white furry hands kneeling in front of him and Frisk.


	2. Ruins Act 2

**-static-**

A cooling wind wafted across a white painted stoop. Ed turned his head to catch it and grinned happily.

"The breeze feels good doesn't it?" A man replied over the soft sounds of the ocean nearby. Ed struggled to move his mouth. All that came out was a low "ou" sound. Disappointed Ed just nodded softly in response. The man closed his notebook placed a hand on the boy's head. "Don't force yourself to speak, I wasn't expecting an answer."

The front door creaked open behind them and out stood a tall man a few years older than Ed with deep indigo hair and a long face. He looked like he was frantic. "Hey old man, I finished assembling the new bed. Can I leave now?"

"Did you finish or are you just saying you finished?" The old man replied creaking his chair as he turned to the teen. He gave a mischievous smirk as he saw the indigo man's silver eyes twitch in annoyance.

"If you don't believe me see for yourself," The indigo man huffed pulling off his white "Dog" armband. "I'm out of here."

"Hot date Matsu-san?" The old man prodded pushing up his rose-tinted glasses. Ed giggled and added kissy noises. The indigo teen rolled his eyes and walked off. The man called out. "Same time tomorrow."

Matsu-san just waved halfheartedly and then he disappeared from view up the beach path.

"Community service is a wonderful thing," The old man cackled. With that the man returned to his reading. Minutes pass and the man finds something. "Hey, here's something we can look into." The man pointed to the next entry. The entry depicted the murder of a 7 year old child in a flower garden near the middle of South Market by an unclassified entity.

The entry read: "Anomalous Beast #4: The Palisade "Goatman"

 **-static-**

 **Ruins - Act 2**

" _No, no, where is it?"_ Frisk thought as they rustled through a big pile of red leaves. They were doing this for the last few minutes, each of them leaving an increased fear as they passed. _"It- it shouldn't be this hard to find."_

"Oh!" A voice called out in surprise. Frisk looked to where it came from and found that their savior was able to wake up Ed. And from the look of it the boy was jolted awake by the woman's appearance. The monster placed her hand on Ed's shoulder tenderly. "My apologies my child, I didn't mean to startle you."

The woman in question was an anthropomorphic lop-eared goat with snowy white fur, red eyes, and small horns. She wore a long purple robe with what looked like a shield on the front. The shield depicted a white circle with wings on the side above three triangles. 2 facing up and 1 facing down.

Ed's shock melted and he tilted his head to have it rest on the woman's hand. The woman started rubbing and Ed smiled in content. "Mmm. Your hand feels like fresh dryer lint."

Despite the oddity of his comment, Toriel smiled. There was an almost motherly warmth to it.

Ed rose his head. "Who are you?"

The woman rose up to her feet and gave a small bow. "I am Toriel, I'm the caretaker of these Ruins. And you are?"

"I'm Ed! Nice to mee- hello!" Ed tried to get up but his legs gave up on him. He landed back to a sitting position.

"Again my apologies Ed," Toriel knelt again with a concerned expression. "That miserable creature infused poison magic into those pellets. I was able to heal your injuries but it takes a little longer for my Ensuna to take effect. So please, don't force yourself to move if you're not able to."

Ed didn't understand much of what Toriel said but the way she said it made him feel at ease. He then noticed Frisk walking up to him.

"H-hey, are you alright Ed?" Frisk asked. They got their answer with another unexpected tackle.

"I'm sorry Frisk!" Ed yelled sadly embracing the younger child in his arms. His limp legs made him look like a seal. "I was in my happy place, lost in the void of my mind. I won't try to grab LOVE again."

"E-Ed!" Frisk squeaked out at the sudden forced exhale. "I-it's alright, y-you can let me go now."

"Such emotion," Toriel mused to herself. "Where you two friends for a long time Frisk?"

"Uh," Frisk stammered as Ed let them go. "A-actually we only met 10 minutes ago. I-I think."

"And we already had our first near-death experience together," Ed added with a sigh that seemed like he regarded it as a memory for a future scrapbook. "That's a new record in my book."

"Well-" Toriel interjected nervously. "Hopefully that won't happen anymore."

Frisk trembled slightly.

"My feet feel tingly," Ed commented raising his unibrow in surprise.

"Oh, can you move your toes?" Toriel asked. Ed tried and the prickly feeling rose up his legs. Ed flipped around and rubbed them and the feeling ebbed away. He looked to Toriel who smiled. "Here, let me help you up."

With little difficulty Ed was back on his feet again. He rose his arms triumphantly with a celebratory woo. Frisk and Toriel sniffed then scooted back from the boy.

 _His aura reminds me of Waterfall before the purification project._ Toriel thought shuddering internally. Externally her smile didn't falter.

 _What did I get myself into?_ Frisk questioned to themselves.

Toriel looked up at the light reflecting off the lavender stone walls above them. "It's getting late," she commented heading off to the stairs on the side of the big leaf pile. "Come children, I will guide you through the catacombs."

"Lead the way Goatmom," Ed smiled.

Toriel stopped and turned. "W-what did you call me?"

Ed regretted saying what he did. "Oh sorry, is that racist?"

If there wasn't fur covering her face, the humans would of seen a small blush in the goat woman's cheeks. "Oh no no, I- just didn't expect you to call me mother," she regained her composure. "But if it makes you feel comfortable, you can call me whatever you like."

Frisk looked at the exchange with a sense of pure bewilderment. Nothing they remember from before is helping them now. First them being able to talk, then Flowey's poison, then the missing "shine" flowers, now this. Normally they would chalk one or two oddities as nothing major but at least they were able to see the shine flowers every single time. Frisk followed the other two with a sense of **dread** filling the pit of their stomach.

"The Ruins are full of puzzles," Toriel began as she showed the two humans 6 white floor buttons on the right side of the room beyond the doorway they just passed. "Ancient fusions of distractions and door keys. One must solve them to move from room to room. Please adjust yourself to the sight of them."

Ed wasted no time at all and walked on all six buttons. "Did I adjust good?" He asked excited.

"If you think you have it, pull the switch near the door Ed," Toriel motioned to a yellow lever in the front of the room.

Ed went up to the switch and pulled. The wall made a click and all the buttons Ed pressed came back up. Ed didn't see this however. "Puzzle vanquished!" Ed yelled running at the closed door nearby.

"Ed wait you didn't-" Toriel tried to stop the boy until-.

A loud crash shook the room as the stone door buckled against Ed's body. The door and the sides of the wall holding the door closed broke apart into fragments as Ed barreled through. A few moments later Ed called out from the next room. "Hey there's a creek here, can we go swimming?"

Frisk and Toriel may as well of been statues as they both were internally switching between dumbfounded awe and unrelenting terror. "H-hey T-toriel?" Frisk slowly asked.

"Yes Frisk?" Toriel shivered.

"I-i'm going to go into the corner and scream for a few minutes do you mind?"

"No, take all the time you need my child," Toriel stammered. Frisk slowly walked to the lower right corner. Toriel tried to take a step forward but then recoiled. "Actually Frisk, you don't mind me joining you do you?"

A few minutes later Ed returned to the room his clothes soaked from playing in the stream. "Hey guys, come on in the water's-"

"UWAAAAAAAAAH!" The monster and the child screamed wildly into their corner of the wall. They didn't hear Ed in their caterwauling.

"Oh, you're playing the screaming game. I'll give you your privacy then," Ed resolved returning to the stream.

He plopped himself back into the stream and lounged back. Closing his eyes, he hummed in relaxation. The cooling water of the stream and the calming sound of its babbling filled the Ed-boy with **determination.**

"Ribbit ribbit," A sound came out about 5 minutes into Ed's soak. Ed woke up to a rather large monochrome frog croaking at the end of the room. On the other side of a set of white spikes. Naturally curious Ed walked closer.

"Ribbit-Ribbit (Hello human, is everything all right?)" The frog's creaking slowly morphed into speech the closer Ed became. "(I hear screaming.)"

"Everything's fine, I was just adjusting to the puzzles," Ed smiled.

The frog turned its "head" to look past the boy. It made a brief survey of the heaps of rubble that where scattered throughout the room. Having an idea of what it was dealing with, the frog returned to Ed. "(I'll take your word for it. Does Ms. Toriel know you're here?)" There was some animosity in the frog's voice when it said Toriel.

"Oh yeah, there was something going on with my new friend so she's having a bonding moment with them now," Ed's smile didn't waver as he pointed to the hole.

The frog looked at the kid in a curious manner. It then replied, "(Again, I'll take your word for it, human.)" The frog started moving away.

"Hey wait! Don't go yet," Ed pleaded.

The frog turned. "(Yes? What is it?)"

"I need to adjust to the sight of more puzzles, can you help me?"

"(What? Why do you want my help?)"

Ed looked down. "I'm really hungry and I don't want to bother Toriel and Frisk from their mother and child time. And you seem like you would know this place enough to point me to food."

The frog hopped back to Ed. "(You are right on that, I've lived my whole life here. But that being said the only thing that's abundant here are spiders and Ruin Snails. And those snails are absolutely revolting to eat. And I would highly recommend not messing with the spiders.)"

"Why?" Ed asked.

"(They remember transgressions against them,)" The frog replied with a shiver. "(One of my brothers found that out the hard way. Rest his soul.)"

"I'm sorry," Ed knelt down to the frog's level.

"(Don't worry about it Human, we already made peace with what happened.)" The frog nodded. "(Now to address your hunger. The spiders are currently holding a bake sale for some reason or another further on, if you want something somewhat edible you may want to go there.)"

"I don't have any money though," Ed sulked.

"(If my smell is any indication, that will probably not be a problem soon,)" The frog gave a small creaky laugh.

Ed looked at the frog quizzically.

"(Just pass the puzzle and I'll explain,)" The frog hopped back. "(Or jump the spikes. I'm a Froggit, not a guard.)"

Since the spikes came up to half of Ed's shin. He decided to jump it. One of the white devils snagged his pants sleeve and he tripped and fell on his face. Otherwise he passed the spikes without getting skewered. The froggit laughed a little as Ed got up.

"(That's the spirit human,)" the froggit cheered.

"Row row fight the power," Ed gave a thumbs up and a grin.

The frogit stuck out its tongue "(The name's Vincent. But everyone calls me Vi)"

"I'm Ed," Ed grabbed the tongue and shook. "Everyone calls me Ed."

And with that Ed made a new friend, and a new problem for his new "Goatmom".


	3. Ruins Act 3

Even though Frisk has known Toriel for several generations it felt like, this was the first time they saw her look so blindsided. For all they knew and heard, she always seemed like the rock, the one who knew everything, the one that kept her cool no matter what befell her. And yet here she was, sitting with them, lightly patting their head with a look of silent regret. Her hands lightly trembled as they slowly glided by their left ear. It felt so surreal to the child but deep down in their soul they felt that what just happened was what needed to happen. They didn't know why they believed this but the warmth of Toriel's hand and the clean soft feeling of her robe on their cheek made them not want to push the matter further.

"Frisk," Toriel began with a sigh. "I'm sorry you had to see me like that. That was very unbecoming of me."

Frisk stirred out of their little nap and muttered. "I didn't know Ed was that strong either, you don't have to be sorry. It scared me too."

 _Ed breaks down a 3000 year old door built to stop the strongest siege weaponry and the first thing I do is scream,_ Toriel thought. _He must think I'm scared of him. I need to make this right before he thinks I want him to leave as well._

It was then she got an idea. "Hey Frisk, just off the top of your head what type of meat do you like?"

Frisk looked at Toriel with a look of mild surprise. With much pondering they asked. "You can get meat in the Ruins?"

"Of course," Toriel's eyes sparkled. "It's a little pricey but I want to make you and Ed feel comfortable for your first night here."

Frisk thought for a moment and drew a blank. "I'll get back to you on that," They resolved.

"That's fine, you don't have to choose right now," Toriel smiled. "And for no particular reason, which do you prefer: cinnamon or butterscotch?"

Now that question was more familiar. Frisk answered. "Cinnamon, but I like butterscotch too."

"Oh good, that makes it easier," Toriel smiled. She then got up to her feet. "Are you ready to continue?"

"Yeah," They said. Then the two of them entered the next room. The first thing Frisk saw was the sign they could never read buried under purple door fragments. _One day I will figure out your mystery Sign._ They thought

"Ed? Are you here?" Toriel asked over the bubbling streams. The presence of spikes and no sign of her "child" made her start to tremble again. _Did he- jump the spikes?_ Worry then filled the woman's head. _Oh no, if he did, that means he could be anywhere now._ The sound of the spikes receding startled her. She turned and saw Frisk at a switch.

"Puzzle vanquished," Frisk gave a thumbs up.

"Ah," Toriel squeaked. She then returned their smile. "Well done Frisk. You solved the puzzle without me needing to explain it."

"T-the labeling helped," Frisk pointed at the yellow writing around the switch.

"Even so, I'm proud of you all the same," Toriel replied. "Let's move on to the next room."

 _I think things are coming back into order._ Frisk thought as they followed.

That notion was thrown back out the window in the next room. Not from an addition of something but rather a lack of something.

"W-where's the training dummy?" Toriel asked as she felt little sweat drops form on the back of her neck.

"Training dummy?" Frisk asked feigning ignorance.

Toriel snapped out of her puzzled expression and returned to her charge. "Well- As a human living in the Underground, monsters may try to attack you or Ed, I left a training dummy here to help you learn what to do in the event that happens. But it seems to have disappeared."

 _No dust._ Frisk pondered. _Maybe it got bored._

Toriel was in a deep thought as well. _I guess I could take its place. You don't really need a dummy to learn how to handle things non-violently._

"Ok Frisk, the process is simple. When you encounter a monster, more often than not they will want to attack you. If that happens strike up a friendly conversation," Toriel lectured as she walked closer to where the dummy used to be. "Stall for time, and I will come and resolve the matter."

She then turned to Frisk. "When you're ready, walk up to me and when the FIGHT starts practice talking to me."

"Huh?!" Frisk asked shocked. They started trembling. "Y-you want me to fight you?"

"It will be alright my child," Toriel reassured. "I wouldn't dream of hurting you."

Her reassurance didn't work. _It isn't you I'm worried about._ They thought as dread grew in their stomach. _I can't see the shine flower anymore. One strike and I'm out._

"Oh, that creature," Toriel lowered her head. "I'm sorry Frisk, I should of thought about that. It's not fair to make you fight after you almost-," She then shook her head and gave a warm smile. "Don't worry, we'll have plenty of time to practice later."

Frisk breathed a sigh of relief. If the powers that be dictated them not to spare anyone, they at least allowed Frisk to prolong it. As the child grabbed their caretaker's hand and followed they noted that they have spent more time with Toriel than they ever did during their previous runs through the Ruins. And for some reason they felt like they sincerely wanted to thank Ed for this.

 **Ruins - Act 3**

"(33, 34, 35,)" Counted Vi as flies darted to and fro in a glass jar. "(You're a natural at this human.)"

"Yeah, no artificial colors and preservatives," Ed grinned lifting his arm near another crack in the wall. A good number of flies wafted out of the crack. Vi bounced into the swarm and caught some in his mouth. He then hopped back to the jar and spat his catch into it.

"(That's 18 right there. Last crack,)" Vi hopped into position.

"Last crack!" Ed repeated over the sound of his feet shuffling over the massive piles of red leaves that filled the room. Like the others before, the new fly hoard was distributed into the jar. With a jubilant croak Vi made a final count.

"(77!)" The froggit exclaimed. "(That's triple last week's yield!)"

"Is that enough to power up your brothers Vi?" Ed asked excitedly.

Vi murmured some calculations, "(I need to test it.)" Vi looked through the holes Ed made trying to "not step on the leaves" as the nearby puzzle description stated. On the ceiling sat three rather large moth-like figures huddled together. He could hear them weeping in fear.

This was a familiar sight today.

As they traversed the ruins to get there, Vi noticed that his brothers avoided Ed like the plague. And the whimsun were timid way before the human appeared, now they didn't try to fight even when Ed was directly under them. Vi noted silently to himself that Ed didn't notice any of this. "(But finding someone to test with is a problem.)" Vi concluded.

"Why?" Ed asked following Vi action.

"(Not sure but it's getting annoying,)" Vi grumbled. He then yelled. "(Hey!)"

The whimsun group yelled in fear and two of them flew away. The third however looked down through the holes at the Froggit.

"V-Vincent?" The moth responded trembling like a leaf. "I-is that you?"

"(What's going on? Everyone's on pins and needles today,)" Vi asked.

"Y-y-you haven't heard, there's a human attacking monsters left and right," The whimsun stammered.

"What does the human look like little moth?" Ed asked getting a good look at the timid moth.

"A-another one?!" The whimsun cried out. "I-I can't handle this."

"(Hey hey! Calm down, he's with me,)" The froggit croaked. "(He's helping me get bot flies. Go ahead and answer his question and I will give you some if you need them.)"

"B-bot flies? T-those are hard to get out of the cracks," The whimsun said. Vi's offer must have been tantalizing enough for the moth. Because it started to lower into the lower area. Ed was able to see the moth fully. Upon closer inspection it appeared to have more in common with a white sheet ghost than an insect. It had tiny arms, legs, and antennae. It also had an open mouth and two black dots under their closed diagonal eyes. As it got near Vi opened the jar slowly. A couple flies tried to escape but Vi made a little dance and his own flies were sent out of the little fly nest under his belly. The magically controlled flies corralled the bot flies closer to the moth. The whimsun slowly captured the bloated flies and ate. After a few flies the moth's trembling lessened.

"She's tall, l-long hair the color of Toriel's clothes, and sounds like she has trouble breathing," Whimsun explained as Vi closed the jar. "She wears something that looks like a school uniform with black stains."

"(Anyone you know?)" Vi asked turning to Ed.

"Not I," Ed answered. "But it sounds like she is not a human but a human puppet corrupted by the shadow lands from the comic "It came from the Inversion Zone"." Ed then pointed up heroically. "We must capture her before she starts sending echoes through the time stream to her cohorts!"

The two monsters didn't follow any of what Ed said but Vi felt inspired whereas the Whimsun shivered.

"Retreat," Whimsun cowered and it tried to fly away but was intercepted.

"(Oh no you don't!)" Vi yelled hopping onto the fleeing moth. The two landed with the sound of a squeaky toy. "(You're helping us too.)"

"B-but Vi we're just a moth, a runt froggit, and some guy, if this girl human really is a puppet or whatever there's no way we can win if we fight it," the whimsun squirmed.

"(Oh so we just let that thing do whatever she wants?)" Vi waxed hypothetical. "(And excuse me, "runt"? Who are you calling a runt?)"

"I-I'm sorry, I misspoke, I'm sure 10 less hp is normal for fully developed polliwogs," Whimsun retorted.

"(You know for someone who was crying like a baby in the corner a second ago, you seem to not have a problem pointing out the flaws in others,)" Vi croaked angrily.

"Guys, guys," Ed jumped in. "We can't fight now. If the puppet calls her cohorts the whole world will be pulled into a 1000 year war between the shadow lords and the holy sentinels."

"W-war?!"

"(War?!)"

The two monsters looked at each other. They didn't expect the seriousness of this situation. Ed knelt down to the pinned moth.

"What's your name little moth?" Ed asked softly.

"C-claire," The whimsun squeaked.

"Claire," Ed repeated. He then brought out his hand. "I'm Ed."

Vi adjusted himself to allow the moth to timidly shake the human's hand. They returned their hands. Ed expression softened. "I'm sorry we're pushing you into this Claire, but we really do need your help."

"E-eh? But what- can I even do that's helpful to you?" Claire asked.

"We need someone to protect us," Ed nodded.

"Huh?" Claire asked deeply surprised that a human would ask that of her.

"(Where are you going with this human?)" Vi added a little uneasily.

"Vi's ambition and my strength are not enough against something like that, we need someone who can see what person the puppet is going after, someone who can fight sneakily and can provide distractions when the puppet unleashes her true power," Ed's imagination was in overdrive. But the interested monsters followed intently all the same. "And I believe with your help we can prevent this war ourselves without having anyone else be put in danger."

"Human I- I don't know what you see in me to make that assumption," Claire resolved obviously very touched by the human's trust in her. "B-but if you and Vi need me, I- I'll do the best I can."

"I thank you Claire," Ed smiled warmly. "And soon the world will too."

A little blush appeared in the moth's features. She also stopped trembling after a few moments of gazing into the human's emerald eyes.

"(Do you know where this puppet is?)" Vi asked hopping off the new member of his party.

"She's in the "perspective puzzle"," Claire answered calmly. "But if she is as strong as you say human, we'll need to prepare ourselves first." She started to fly again.

"We can go to the bake sale," Ed offered.

"We Whimsun usually have no need for G so I don't have any to help you buy anything," Claire responded. "S-sorry."

Vi looked at the jar of flies nearby with a solemn sigh. "(I see where this is going.)" He murmured. "(I hate delayed gratification.)"

"It's for a good cause noble amibo," Ed consoled.

"(77 bot flies,)" Vi grumbled. "(Just pocket them before I change my mind.)"

Ed did what he was told and Vi lead the Ed-boy to the exit vent as Claire just flew through a hole. Back top side Ed slowly went down the only set of places he didn't fall through his previous attempts. His stride improved by feeling a part of a three man team again. He was filled with **determination**.

Even after another spot caved out underneath him. He screamed down into the leaves below. It was the 18th spot he fell through.

"I'm ok, I think I did a flip," Ed responded with a laugh.

"(Yeah, he doesn't do well on puzzles,)" Vi whispered to Claire.

After another lead up back top-side it took two more attempts by Ed to walk the path. But he finally managed to do so with much fanfare from his new friends, and the newly formed party rolled on further into the Ruins.


	4. Ruins Act 4

"In the times before the War, Both Monsters and Humans were united into a single civilization. The reason for this was not for virtue or a desire for cooperation but rather a needed protection against a mutual fear. Fear of Ancient Spirits that hunted and stalked us for generations. These spirits took the form of young human woman with layered garb, pale skin, and glowing eyes. With unique characteristics based on the color of the eye. Red eyes who tortured unsuspecting victims with deadly incantations, pink eyes who cause mischief and misfortune to anyone and anything they see, and the indigo eyes who are able to materialize ornate weaponry to slaughter their prey. We called these spirits **Hackwitches** for their brutality, whereas the human dubbed them simply as **Colors** based on their unique eye distinctions.

Ruthless, unpredictable, and lacking in morality, the Hackwitches raided both monster and human settlements alike. Stealing food, burning houses, slaying whole villages just because they could, the Hackwitches gave no quarter to man, woman or child that had the misfortune to be in their way. So to better protect themselves from these attacks Monsters and Humans increased their affinity to the various resources the surface provided. We increased our knowledge of magic by researching and manipulating the leyline energy the earth is abundant with, whereas the humans increased their knowledge by experimentation with the more material aspects of their environment.

It was our drive for knowledge that created the 6 basic arts of magic that all monsters can use: **Fire, Water, Rock, Light, Dark, and Weapon**.

It was humanity's drive for knowledge that led them to discover their own magic art. The only art humans are able to use.

The humans named their magic: **Python**

Monsters are not able to learn this magic, and any inquiry into the matter was met with derision and fear by the master practitioners. Our leaders concluded that whatever this strange magic was, the Hackwitches seemed to fear it more than anything, and in desperation we turned a blind eye while the humans continued their research into this Python magic.

It will be this research that started turning the gears that led to the near extinction of humanity and the subsequent exile of all Monster-kind to the Underground."

 **-** **Gerson**

 **Human/Monster Relations: An Anthology**

 **pg:27**

 **…**

"There is another puzzle in this room," Toriel instructed entering a room with a zig-zag trail in the middle. "I wonder if you can solve it."

Frisk barely heard her as they braced for their first encounter. _Ok, just complement the Froggit when the FIGHT begins, no muss, no fuss, no dust._

They followed Toriel past the pattern and into the hallway. As they went around the corner, Frisk felt their soul vibrate.

The area around them darkened as the FIGHT barrier encircled them.

They were determined.

But as soon as the FIGHT Arena appeared, the darkness cracked apart. There was no Froggit to complement. When Frisk regained their vision their determination was immediately replaced by horror when they saw the message the FIGHT arena gave them in response.

 ***but nobody came...**

 _W-what?_ Frisk's mind went into knots as they tried to rationalize what just happened. _No, that- that can't be true. I-I didn't do anything._

Toriel looked across the long row of spikes in the room ahead. She was about ready to call out to Ed but saw a good number of puddles on the wooden dock at the other end of the puzzle. Despite the gnawing guilt she was harboring she couldn't help but complement his problem solving skills. She then felt Frisk bump into her which brought her and the child back to reality.

"Oh, sorry I didn't mean to stop so suddenly, this puzzle is a little dangerous now that I think of-," She mused turning back to Frisk. What she saw made her heart sink. Frisk looked like a deer in headlights, trembling with balled up fists. "Frisk, what's wrong?"

Finding no reason to make excuses, Frisk just squeaked out. "I- was pulled into a FIGHT."

"What?" Toriel asked surprised. She then turned angry. "Who tried to attack you? Where are they now?"

"I didn't see anything. Just the words "but nobody came"," Frisk answered, despite seeing that message before in less "savory" runs their morbid curiosity got the better of them. "I- I don't know what that means."

Toriel knelt down to the child's eye level with a stern expression. "Are those the exact words the Fight arena gave you?"

Toriel's expression made the child uneasy. "Yes I believe so." They answered.

"I see," Toriel closed her eyes. Frisk felt heat rising around Toriel. "I'm sorry I have to do this but I need to leave you alone for a bit then, will you be alright by yourself after I guide you through the puzzle ahead?" The seriousness in her voice reinforced the general idea the child had about the matter. They nodded quickly. Toriel brought out her hand and Frisk grabbed on.

"I'm sorry if I sound rash now," Toriel rationalized as the two went down the path. Spikes receding as they went. "But if it's like what you said, I need to take action before this situation gets any worse."

"What's going on?" Frisk asked.

"What you saw is called a BNC warning," Toriel explained over the small sounds of spike movement. "Meaning that the FIGHT dimension detected a dangerous threat in the area. If the warning is sent out it's the job of a monster with a powerful soul to stop the threat before it can cause more harm."

"So, you're going to fight whoever is causing this warning?" Frisk replied.

"Hopefully it won't come to that," Toriel sighed tensely. "I dislike solving conflicts by might. It wasn't how I was taught to deal with things, and it isn't what I want to teach you two now. But- if I can't convince whoever is doing this to stop and a FIGHT does happen, I will do what's necessary to protect everyone who lives here. That is my job as a Caretaker."

Frisk stayed silent and the two went down the next room. In the middle of a long corridor, Toriel pulled out a small gray flip-phone. "I got you this in case you and Ed wanted to wander around on your own," She offered. "It's not very up-to-date but it serves all the basic functions you may need."

"Toriel," Frisk spoke in concern.

Seeing her child worried made the monster's guilt grow again. She gave the phone to them and embraced them slowly. "Everything will be alright Frisk, sometimes the warning goes off and there isn't even a problem. Once it's settled we'll find Ed, get a few things from the store, and we'll have a very delightful evening. Does that sound like fun?"

Pushing aside what happened before when they end up at Toriel's house, Frisk nodded.

"On the bright side, monsters won't be able to fight you during a BNC so aside from a few puzzles I didn't explain yet it's relatively safe for you to walk around now," Toriel gave a shaky smile. "Just call me if you need help with something alright?"

"I will," Frisk affirmed.

"Ok, Be good," The goatwoman turned away and started walking. But after a few paces she stopped and lowered her head. "Oh and Frisk? If you see Ed before I do, would you tell him I'm not angry at him for breaking that door, and that I'm very impressed with his independence? I'm worried that our little moment may have upset him."

"O-of course," Frisk answered. A bad thought crept into their head but they tried to not let it show. _Could Ed be the threat?_

"Thank you my child," Toriel replied sounding relieved. "I'll see you soon."

When Frisk couldn't see Toriel anymore they pulled out the phone and through hasty taps pulled up the check feature from the phone's menu. On the green screen were two options: CHECK Frisk and CHECK Ed

Frisk first choose themselves.

" **Frisk"**

 **LV: 1**

 **HP: 20/20**

 **AT: 0(0)**

 **DF: 0(0)**

 **EXP: 0**

 **NEXT: 10**

 **WEAPON: Stick**

 **ARMOR: Bandage**

 **GOLD: 0**

 _Ok that's normal. Fr_ isk thought to themselves. They then chose Ed.

 **"Ed"**

 **LV: 1**

 **HP: 20/20**

 **AT: ?**

 **DF: ?**

 **Fun: ?**

 **EXP: 0**

 **NEXT: 10**

 **WEAPON: None**

 **ARMOR: Armband**

 **GOLD: 0**

 _These stats gave me more questions than answers._ Frisk concluded not entirely surprised by the result. _But Ed is not killing anyone so I can be happy about that._

The child was curious about Ed's armor so they entered his inventory. They selected the Armband.

 **Armband: White strap with the word "Dog" written in marker. It's singed in places.**

They glanced at their bandage. _Must be something very important to him. I'll have to ask about it later. Maybe it will help jog his memory._ They then noticed the Training Dummy in the menu. They clicked it.

 **Training Dummy: Along for the ride. Whether it wants to or not.**

 _And that solves the missing mannequin mystery._ Frisk smiled at their alliteration.

Something else really caught their eye. Under the Dummy was the item " **U2NhcmFiJ3MgRXll** ". Frisk clicked the item description.

And the phone restarted itself.

 _I should probably stop looking through his things without permission._ Frisk rationalized as they began their trek to the end of the Ruins. Trying to ignore the loud screeching the phone made before it restarted.

When the phone finished its boot cycle, it slightly vibrated as a notification came up.

 **Five Spider Donuts and three Spider Ciders were entered into Ed's INV. 489 remaining slots available.**

 _So he's at the bake sale. W-wait-_ Frisk got sidetracked by the rest of the notification. "489 slots available?!" Frisk placed their hands to their mouth in surprise. They felt a weight fall off their shoulders as they remembered their money making technique. They giggled a little. "Ed you beautiful man, where have you been all my life?"

Frisk's outlook on their new run brightened significantly. _Ok, money and food will be taken care of later, now all we have to worry about is staying alive. And that shouldn't be too hard._

 _Until now, it was pretty much the only thing I could do._

Frisk moved forward but had to stop as a cold hollow feeling crept into their chest. With it came a strong almost primal fear. They looked around but their surroundings gave them no answer as to why. The only thing they seemed to notice was a growing stench.

The air in the Ruins was starting to smell like sweet flowers, growing out of sun-baked roadkill.

Frisk rushed forward. Something about that smell made them feel like they were about to figure out the threat very soon. And like everything else that happened to them already they felt completely unprepared for it.

And they greatly feared Toriel and maybe Ed are unprepared for it as well.

 **Ruins - Act 4**

"Pleasure doing business with you~" Chirped the ceiling over the webs that served as the registers for the bake sale. Ed waved happily back to the massive cluster of white webbing and lavender arachnids as he left with a massive gift box and the emptied fly jar. A doughnut with pink icing and crunchy dough dangling from his mouth like anime morning toast. He found his friends in the room north of the fork. Claire was trying to console some of her crying sisters on the ceiling. Vi was sulking in the corner.

"(I'm not crying,)" singed the frog into the wall. "(It's just raining on my face.)"

"Hey guys!" Ed yelled happily. "I brought lunch."

"Ed, Vi we have a big problem," Claire finished her conversations and fluttered down.

"(Yeah tell me about it,)" grumbled Vi as he hopped closer to the human. "(I only needed 30 flies to further my ascension.)"

"Vi you can always become a Final Froggit later," Claire pointed out. "We have more pressing matters now. BNC is in effect."

"(What?!)" Vi dropped his strife with a look of shock. He then turned somber. "(H-how many have fallen already?)"

"I d-don't know, no one wants to go into the perspective room to check," Claire trembled.

"BNC?" Ed asked tilting his head.

"BNC: But Nobody Came, it's a warning that comes when too many Monsters fall down," Claire explained solemnly.

"Like what I did during the leaf puzzle?" Ed replied innocently finishing his pastry.

"(No, the puppet has been killing monsters, enough monsters that even the dimension will not allow further FIGHTs to happen,)" Vi explained.

"I think we should hold off on trying to fight her Ed," The moth shivered. "If she caused the BNC she may be too high LV for us to take on even if we could create an arena."

"If she is killing monsters that is more reason we need to capture and purify her," Ed stood his ground.

"(As much as I hate to do so, maybe we should let Toriel know what's happening, she's strong enough to handle this,)" Vi explained.

Ed shook his head. "The puppet's actions are not her own. If we let someone else handle it, an otherwise innocent soul may get killed. Theirs or hers. I can't allow that knowing we can stop this ourselves."

"(I understand your sentiments, but you don't understand the problem me and Claire are in now. Without the FIGHT Arena our offensive magic is practically useless. If we go in now we would do nothing but hold you back,)" Vi explained.

"You don't know that," Ed replied sadly.

"(No I don't, but I've seen it happen before. Monsters that tried to attack a BNC threat outside an arena never make it back. Monsters that were prouder and stronger than I could ever dream to achieve,)" Vi pleaded. "(We need to think about our families. I don't know your situation back on the surface , but I believe that the ones who love you don't want you risking your life either.)"

Ed slowly grasped the armband underneath his left sleeve and looked forlornly at the room ahead of them.

"I-I'm going to try to get Toriel," Claire resolved. "If anyone can stop the threat it would be-."

Claire was interrupted by the sound of Ed grabbing a few items from the gift box and jamming them into his pockets.

"Ed what are you doing?" Claire asked shaking. Ed answered by making a break for the "One Switch Puzzle".

"I'm sorry!" Ed yelled. "I can't lose anyone else!"

"(Ed! Don't be a hero you maniac!)" Vi commanded as he followed suite. Claire scrambled to get the caretaker as fast as her little wings could carry her. The switch puzzle was bypassed in the same way as the others before it. By the Ed-boy long-jumping over the line of spikes at the end. Vi followed but instead of making it across the spike he was sent backwards by a strong force. The froggit landed on his back with a surprised "Kero!" a few feet behind the trap. Scrambling back upright in an attempt to remain modest, Vi was able to see what made his pursuit end.

The hallway leading to the Perspective puzzle was surrounded by a nearly translucent green-colored force field. The most prominent feature this barrier had was the kanji  
 **"** **補助"** firmly embedded in the middle.

"(What is that?)" Vi questioned to himself. He then saw Ed turn the corner past a giant marble column obscuring a small yellow plunger. Vi was able to see two things before Ed went out of sight. One was the serious look on Ed's face, and the other was his eyes which seemed to shine for just an instant. Even though his soul was filled with fear, Vi felt inspiration by the **determination** the human seemed to radiate with. _I'll- be rooting for you Human. Show those Shadow Beasts who's the real boss around here!_

 ** _..._**

The first thing Ed saw in the room beyond was the dust.

In stark contrast to the lavender walls and floor of the Ruins proper, large swatches of the floor were covered in a layer of gray-white soot. Some in thin circles and others in size-able piles that built up around the columns. The piles were punctuated by outlines of otherwise invisible plungers. Not that the plungers mattered in the grand scheme of things as Ed observed at the end of the room. The spikes have already receded before he got there. And across the room through where the spikes were sat a girl that looked to be in her late teens. Laying against the wall like a discarded doll. She had long purple hair, faded purple eyes, and very pale skin. True to Claire's description the girl wore attire that could be classified as a school uniform. A white shirt under an orange vest under a gray blazer. A red ribbon tie, a dark blue knee length skirt and white inside shoes. The outfit was caked in the gray dust except for two areas: over the girl's abdomen and above the girl's left bosom. These places were stained pitch black around slender tears in the fabric.

The girl didn't seem to acknowledge Ed's presence as he approached. Maintaining a deep vacant state through wheezing breaths. All the while Ed's brain replayed the rules of purification that was outlined in his comic. _Ok, first step of Purification: Politely greet yourself and state your experience level to establish a common ground with the possessor._ Ed lightly bowed as he entered her area of the room. "Good afternoon Miss," Ed spoke politely. "My name is Ed, and I will be your Exorcist today. I'm still in training so bear with me and I will make this as comfortable as possible." The girl didn't do much other than turn her head slowly to face him. _Second step have two or more people capture or distract the possessed while the one performing the ritual begin their traversal to the Inverse._ Ed looked around. _I don't have two more people. I have to capture her myself. But wait- Mom said I can't fight girls._

The girl in question curled her fingers as a sliver of steel started forming inside her palm.

 _The Shadow Beasts are not bound by the customs of mortal man though. She obviously suffered greater offenses than I can ever comprehend. I don't want to fight but I may have to if I can ever hope to save her. But if I attack her am I no better than the beasts?_

The girl's eyes started to glow indigo as a 15 cm long Santoku knife finished its formation. She seemed transfixed on Ed's eyes as she started to move her legs. Ed didn't notice this as he continued to debate himself.

The girl then seemed to remember something.

 ***You-**

"Huh?" Ed asked turning back to the girl. He saw the girl rise to her feet.

And with a show of speed he didn't anticipate, Ed watched as the girl plunged the blade into his chest.

 **Ed's health: 12/20**

"Bad poke!" Ed screamed as pain surged through him. The girl then twisted the blade, causing a violet colored burst of energy. The force behind it sent the boy backwards through the doorway. Ed collided into the wall causing a crater.

 **Ed's health: 5/20**

He lifted his head a few moments with a wince. Only to find the girl staring at him with a look of utter confusion. Before he could react the girl regained her focus and growled at him. She moved her fingers together as a group of slender black needles started to grow out of the palm of her right hand. She then aimed her palm at the boy's direction and the needles shot out like bullets from a firearm. "Knitting bad for Ed!" The boy yelled ducking out of the way just before the needles reached him. They embedded themselves into the wall. One of them inadvertently bumping into an invisible plunger on Ed's right. An error noise sounded through the puzzle and a hole swallowed the boy up before the girl could take another shot.

 **...**

"Loox, like I said before I'm not picking on you," Toriel said pinching her nose in frustration at the monster she was trying to get info from. "I just want to know if you saw anything before the BNC started."

"Then why would you ask me that?" countered a monster with the appearance of a giant eyeball with feet. "You think because of my eye, I'm able to see everything that wanders by here?"

"No, I asked you because you're were the only one that didn't run away," Toriel tried to reason but was interrupted by the monster storming off after muttering something about nobody understanding him. She made a scowl. _Maybe people would stop picking on you if you had more of an spine._ She struck upon an idea that lightened her frustration. _Oh, eye- spine- that's pretty good. I'll have to try to make a joke for that later._

"T-toriel!" a small female voice yelled out. Toriel turned to the source and found a single Whimsun flying erratically towards her. "H-help! Help!"

"Yes, what wrong little one?" Toriel asked taken aback by the moth's uncharacteristic boldness.

"BNC! T-threat! Human! S-shadow Beasts!" The moth stammered completely frazzled. "Th-thousand year war!"

"Now now there's no need to rush," The caretaker replied with concern. "Just slow down, take a deep breath, and when you're ready explain slowly."

"N-no! There's no time! My friend's in danger!" The moth then grabbed the goatwoman's hand and started pulling. "O-over here! Hurry!"

The moth was not really strong, only succeeding in moving the caretaker's arm up and down. But Toriel believed the monster's fear, and following the tiny thing back into the puzzle plaza anyway.

 **…**

"I- 2- buckle my shoe. 3- 4- at the store," Ed counted weakly before he gave the knife in his heart a sharp tug. With a slight grinding sound the devil was free from his udder. Ed placed his hand to the wound left behind, and placed his mouth on a pitcher of purple liquid. It only took a few moments for Ed to down the sweet cider even with the weakness the kid was feeling from losing a lot of his marinara sauce. After he was done he just let the pitcher fall into the leaves and he laid back against the wall. The pain slowly lessened and it felt like he was becoming himself again.

 **Ed's health was maxed out.**

 _Her possessor must see me as an equal now._ Ed thought. _They would of sent her down to finish the job by now if they didn't._ He picked up the blade and wiped it with a few red leaves. He then peered at the vent on the north side of the room. _The possessor will give me no mercy when I head back up. I guess I really do need to fight now. I have to get ready._ Ed took off his jacket and wrapped the sleeves around his waist. He then got distracted by his shirt. _Cool! Even my clothes got fixed. Monsters think of everything._ He then spotted his armband. He readjusted it with reverence. With that he took a deep breath, then went into the vent to head back up. He was determined to stop the girl's suffering at all costs now.


	5. Ruins Boss pt: 1

Silence and snow was all that graced the dense forest that hugged the outer walls of the Ruins. To the monsters that lived in the village nearby, this silence was a peaceful change after the bad snow storm that happened a week before. But to a lone figure at the nearest sentry station to the Ruins proper the silence always brought a feeling of remembrance. Whether this remembrance was caused by dread or anticipation, the figure couldn't really say. What the figure could say is that he was supposed to hear a grinding noise about that time. Followed by small crunches of snow.

The figure was so intent on hearing this he didn't notice footsteps coming from the other direction. Until a taller figure tried to get his attention.

"Sans?" A tall skeleton dressed in a makeshift uniform with an orange cape asked observing the figure before turning cross. "Sans! Wake up!"

The figure gave a grunt of surprise as the hood of his blue jacket slid off his head revealing an equally bleached white skull. The figure looked up to his new visitor with a grin. "sup' bro?"

"You know what's up Brother! You were napping again!" The tall man scolded.

"what? no way. i was just listening," The figure defended while getting to his feet.

"Listening nothing, you didn't recalibrate any of your puzzles for 8 days, and now I find you just "listening" away next to your craft project?" The tall man complained peering at the oddly-human-child shaped ceramic lamp next to his brother. "What am I going to do with you?"

"hey take it easy Papyrus, you don't need to bring the lamp into this," Sans replied. "it's not even relevant now."

"It's relevant because it shows you would rather boondoggle than be on the lookout for humans!" Papyrus stomped his foot in frustration. "What does it say about me, The Great Papyrus, if my brother just allows a human to just waltz right through his sentry station?"

"that you like sultry dancing?" Sans asked.

 **Badum-tish**

"Nyeh heh," Papyrus started to giggle but caught himself. "No! It means it'll take longer for me to catch that human! I want this to be a team effort, and it would be really helpful for me if you could stop being so lazy all the time!"

"oh come on, i'm not lazy all the time," Sans winked. "like take today for instance, i actually gotten a ton of work done today."

"Really," Papyrus narrowed his eye sockets.

"yeah, a skele-ton."

 **Badum-tish**

"Heh-heh," Papyrus chuckled again but he also caught himself- again. "Sans!"

"you're laughing," Sans pointed out.

"I am and I don't know why!" Papyrus exclaimed exasperated.

"i think I may know," Sans added.

Papyrus sighed. "Why?"

"that despite what you say, you actually think my jokes are humerus."

 **Badum-tish**

"Nyeh heh heh!" Papyrus's eyes widened in realization. "That sound! Sans! What is that?!"

"you figured it out," Sans smiled. "i installed a new feature to my station. that sound makes things sound more funnier than usual. you wanna try it out?"

Papyrus just sighed. "Why does someone as great as me have to do so much just to get some recognition?" Without missing a beat he glanced at the wooden stand and continued. "I will tend to my puzzles. And as for your work, try to put a little more "backbone" into it!"

 **Badum-tish**

"Nyeh heh heh heheh!" Papyrus allowed himself to laugh as he started walking away. Adding another "heh!" before he left Sans's sight.

The jacketed skeleton's grin slowly faltered as he was left alone again.

S _omething's wrong here._ He thought to himself. He tried to focus on anything that seemed out of place but was met with the same silence as before. _Temporal stability at 89%, Anomaly rating holding at 35% from this morning, a little ominous but not a predictor of future events._

Sans turned back to the purple lamp and lightly readjusted the shade. _I guess this must be a fluid Timeline then._ He resolved getting up. He sauntered over to his sentry stand and after fidgeting through the condiments and assorted knickknacks he kept inside he pulled out a joke book. With a few page flips he pulled out a programming book from inside that book. He sat down on his stool and started combing through his new find for more ways to "enrich" his station with.

 _Don't worry about it kid,_ t _ake all the time you need. i wanted to brush up on my improv skills anyway._

 **Ruins – Boss pt.1**

After minutes of traversal through the plaza, the moth's mad dash with Toriel in tow was finally halted by the sight of a froggit just staring into the Perspective Puzzle. "Vi?! What are you still doing out here?!"

"(I can't continue past the spikes,)" Vi answered curtly. "(I just bounce right off.)"

The moth was about to ask for clarification but the frog's reason shined brightly as if it wanted to be known itself.

"Huh?" Toriel asked intrigued as she joined the moth in observing the green semi-translucent wall barring the way into the next room. "Where did this come from?"

"(Wish I could tell you,)" croaked the froggit to Toriel's left.

"Ho-jo?" the moth read the wall. "What does that mean?"

Toriel pondered for a moment then gave out what she knew. "It's been a very long time since I last saw this word so I'm not really sure it still applies, but back on the surface the humans that did the jobs no one else wanted to do were usually referred to as this."

"(Why would a title be on a barrier though?)" Vi asked looking at the goatwoman.

A small flash of violet light shined on the other side of the wall. Being in her nature to be attracted to bright light, Claire noticed it immediately.

"Look out!" Claire screamed fleeing out of the doorway.

Toriel jumped back as a silver throwing knife struck the barrier with enough force to lodge itself in. Energy crackled in Toriel's hands as she lifted them into a stance. She saw who threw the projectile. The tall girl in question wandered closer to the barrier. Her glowing eyes scanning the intruding field with a few shallow huffs.

 _A_ _Hackwitch,_ Toriel thought with disdain. _Never thought I would live long enough to see one of those horrid things again._

"Is this- that puppet you were talking about?" Toriel asked sternly as the purple-haired girl ripped out the knife and dismissed it. Seemly no longer interested, the girl then turned away from the monsters and started off on her way.

"I thought- s-she was just a regular human at first," Claire stammered. "It was Ed who said she was possessed. I can see why he would think that now."

The mention of Ed made Toriel's anxiety reach a fever pitch. She forced her eyes shut and shook. "Ed's this friend you're talking about."

Feeling the temperature around them rise Vi took the initiative and groveled at the caretaker's feet. "(We're sorry!)"

Toriel responded by aiming her hand at the frog and summoning a roaring ball of fire. "You left- my child- with that demon?"

"Ed wanted to help the girl," Claire answered for the frog at gunpoint.

"Wh-what?" Toriel replied incredulously.

"Ed believes the girl's possessed by this- group called the Shadow Beasts, he wanted to help free the girl from their possession." The moth clarified. "We agreed to help him out too, but the BNC went out before we got here. After that we made an offer to involve you, and I guess Ed panicked and- before we can do anything he jumped over the spikes to face her himself."

It was there that Toriel made a horrible realization.

The Hackwitch was splotches of red on her clothes.

And Humans are the only ones who can bleed red.

"N-no," Toriel trembled as she felt the gravity of the situation threaten to pull her down to her knees. The fireball was dissipated but the heat continued to rise as the caretaker held a fist to her chest in a desperate attempt to stave off the now torrential guilt that now tore at her soul like a wild animal. "No, no, no, he can't be."

"Ms. Toriel?" The moth asked concerned. "Are you Ok?"

Vi felt the air around him and started shaking in fear. "(H-hey Claire, maybe we shouldn't be standing so close to her right now.)"

The caretaker forced her eyes closed and lowered her head. The heat around her fluctuated wildly as she fought her desire to wail. Her memories, her fears, her failures everything started warping together as the thought of what the demon did to Ed threatened to tear apart what little control she still had over her fire magic. In this storm she contemplated an idea from far back if Ed's condition was too bad. One that needed something a little more than what she had.

But to do so, she first had to break a vow she made to herself and to her children.

"Vincent, how long has Ed been in there?" Toriel finally spoke. Vi felt the ice down to his bones.

Vi stood at attention. "(10 minutes, Ms. Toriel.)"

 _10 minutes..._ Toriel wiped away the tears that managed to sneak out and tried to steady her breathing enough for more of her magic to come back under her control.

To do this, she remembered the good times she had with all the previous children she cared for. After a few moments she was able to focus her energy into the palm of her hand. Those memories unfortunately made her heart ache at what she needed to do. So after stifling a small sob, she gulped and made a silent request to her children.

 _Asriel,_

 _Chara,_

 _Midori,_

 _Tayo,_

 _Suzuki,_

 _Anko,_

 _Yumi,_

 _Benjiro_

 _Please- look away. I don't want you to see this._

She opened her eyes again and with reinvigorated resolve she began an incantation.

 **Verbrenne die Verzweiflung in unseren Herzen zu Asche. Mit der Flamme, die die Hoffnungen und Träume aller Monsterkinds erfüllt.** **Versengen!** **Bergentrückung!**

Toriel's summon was punctuated by a brilliant flash of light. When it dissipated the froggit and whimsun gasped in astonishment at what materialized in the caretaker's hand.

In her hand was a large crimson spear with three-prongs jutting out the end. The prongs were connected at the pole by a flower-shaped welding point. The trident crackled with a powerful surge of heat as it finished materializing. Toriel hung her head, unwilling to even look over the weapon she summoned.

"M-Ms. Toriel, what- what is that?" Claire asked her dots turning into stars.

Toriel allowed a few tears to fall and get burned into steam by the trident. "A weapon of a murderer, now being held by a hypocrite." She answered solemnly as she held out the weapon and removed her hand from it. The trident hovered where it was released. She then gave the weapon a command.

 **Break it.**

Toriel pointed at the barrier and the trident obliged by speeding off towards it.

The prongs of the trident pierced the barrier and with the sound of shattered glass the wall exploded into dazzling green shards before vanishing into thin air. The trident continued its trajectory and collided with the wall at the end of the room beyond.

"(So strong,)" Vi commented his eyes shining in inspiration.

"Th- that was amazing Ms. Toriel!" Claire cheered.

The goatwoman ignored the praise and walked into the perspective puzzle, calling the trident back to her hand as she went around the corner.

"We should follow her," Claire offered.

Vi turned to the moth. "(Took the words right out of my mouth.)" He hopped after the caretaker with an eagerness that he haven't felt before.

Before Claire could follow, her antennae twitched. "Huh?" The moth turned to the entrance of the puzzle and found a small human child with slightly long brown hair eavesdropping behind a corner.

They looked terrified.

…

Walking through the dust filled rooms, Toriel gripped Bergentrückung so hard that she felt it pulse energy like a heartbeat. The lack of air current caused the smell of the Hackwitch's rot and the fallen to surround her like a blanket. The sight of red splashed in the connector between the blue and yellow rooms made her take pause. Against her desires she forced herself to follow the blood trail to the needles dug in the wall. She saw the trail stop at a curve near a hovering needle. Although better than finding a body, her conclusions about Ed's fate didn't give her any solace.

 _He's under the puzzle._ Toriel forced her eyes closed as water started forming again. She struggled to remain her steady breathing as she felt the heat of the trident intensify. _E-even in the Ruins, I- can't protect one child._ But with a subdued growl and an arch of fire briefly wrapping around her, she swallowed her guilt and sorrow like bitter pills. _No! I can fix this! I have time!_ She wiped her eyes and returned to her task. _D-don't worry Ed._ _Goatmom will make this feel like it never happened._ She walked through the rest of the puzzle and made it to a fork in the road decorated with red leaves in the middle.

It was here that the caretaker saw a glimpse of purple hair in the room across from her as the Hackwitch went north into the overlook.

The room was a rather large commons area that overlooked the rest of the Ruins. More importantly the numerous clusters of dilapidated structures that were once thought of as the last bastion of Monsterkind. Now with the exception of the bubbling streams and nominal activity on the streets below, the crumbling city had a deep peaceful silence. It was in this silence that the Hackwitch noticed Toriel enter after her. Swiveling on her heel the girl faced the caretaker and tossed the same silver knife. However Toriel was prepared and swatted it away with her trident.

"That's not going to work on me," Toriel said stoically. The girl tested this by forming black needles in both her palms. The goatwoman saw this and held out her left hand. " **Ember Wave**." As the girl shot out her projectiles, small orange wisps materialized around Toriel and fired back. The two projectiles collided in small puffs of violet fog. To the girl's surprise, some embers sneaked through the line. The girl was forced to increase her distance from the mage in order to stall for time. The embers were stopped and the clash ended in a stalemate.

Toriel saw something white behind her and made another command. " **True Flame Veil**." The white thing hopped backwards as blue flames closed off the only opening to the overlook.

"(Hey! What gives?!)" Vi croaked angrily as he regained his footing.

"Don't interfere," Toriel commanded with a glare at the frog's direction. A glint of light in her peripheral called her back to attention as she awkwardly ducked away from a needle aimed at her head. It only lightly grazed her left shoulder and was blown into smoke by the flame torrent she summoned.

 **Toriel's health: 435/440  
** **Toxicity: 5%**

"Persistent," Toriel grumbled ignoring the slight pain the needle left behind. She revved up a ball of red flame in response. " **Helix Volley**." She shut her palm and two grapefruit-sized orbs started revolving around her fist. With a flash the orbs started sending out a stream of small red embers closely packed together. At the speed the embers were going the Hackwitch didn't have time to retaliate. She jumped left but didn't account for the stream scattering wisps at the end of the helix. Some of the embers touched the girl on her thigh before the jump. The stream zeroed in, connected to the embers, and sat her ablaze before she was able to land. The Hackwitch writhed on the ground and screamed like a mountain lion as the flames bit into her skin. Minutes later the spell ended with the girl slightly burnt and her attitude fouled.

 **? health: 310/350**

Toriel met the crispy girl's ire with a challenge. "I have been around for more than 3 thousand years. If you have a form stronger than this, use it and quit wasting my time."

The Hackwitch returned to her feet and glared at the mage. Then with a wave of her fingers she materialized another blade, a rather unassuming pocket knife. However judging by the look in the girl's eyes, Toriel knew from experience the girl had no intention of chucking it at her. She was proven right when the girl gave a grin and stabbed herself with the pocket knife over the black stain in her gut. As bellows of white smoke funneled out of the wound, vibrant black runes of nondescript symbols and characters spiraled out from the knife across the girl's hunched over body. The glow of her eyes darkened as well and after a few moments her glow disappeared leaving behind white sclera with pinpoint violet irises. Her left arm started sprouting larger needles that pierced through the sleeves of her clothes and the holder of the knife started transforming into a carved wooden handle.

With a growl the Hackwitch pulled the knife out of her gut in a flash of violet energy and white smoke. When the light faded and Toriel opened her eyes, she found that the girl's pocket knife had grown to an impressive 40 cm convex bladed machete, the metal had a sky blue hue and was tampered with some of the runes that appeared during the transformation. The girl's clothing had changed as well. In the uniform's place was an indigo robe with blue floral patterns stitched with black thread. The robe came with a wide sash that wrapped around the girl's waist, and long sleeves that were able to cover the girl's hands. Or rather her right hand on the handle and a bundle of quill-like protrusions that took the place of her left hand.

Vi was ecstatic by what he was witnessing. _Oh, I'm so glad I decided to go outside today._

The Caretaker of the Ruins readied herself as the girl moved her quills behind her back and pointed the tip of the blade at her soul. Then with a sprint the Hackwitch's celeste steel collided with Toriel's weapon magic causing a loud clang that echoed through the Ruins like a toll of a clock tower.

The true FIGHT has begun.

 **Toriel's health: 435/440  
** **Toxicity: 10%**

 **? health: 620/700**


	6. Ruins Boss pt: 2

_Kami-sama? Annoying Dog? Are you listening?_ Frisk thought in a panicked frenzy. The image of Toriel wielding her ex's weapon with fire in her eyes not leaving their mind. _I-if you are, y-you know I don't ask for much anymore. I made peace with my station in life before, I can make peace with it now. B-but I need to know, where are you going with this?_

"Hello, are- you lost?" Claire asked meekly after a little flutter to the frozen child.

"I-i-i," Frisk muttered.

Claire peered back to where Toriel left then back to a child. Frisk dropped their head into their hands causing the moth to become fretful. "Oh, oh no, you saw everyth-, oh oh nononono," She turned back to the exit. "Vi? Are you still-? No, he can't hear me." The moth turned back to the child and played up a shook smile. "H-hey- I- I know it looks bad, b-but- i-it's going to be ok little one. M-ms. Toriel is strong enough to stop this."

Her unconvincing reassurance did nothing for the child so she decided to try to pat the child's head. When she got close to try she was blindsided by them raising their head to the heavens and roaring. "IF I FIND OUT I'M ACTUALLY IN SPACE I'M GOING TO BE SO MAD DOG!"

"P!" Claire yelled in surprise during the outburst. She flew to the ceiling and huddled close to the corner between the ceiling and the wall.

After a moment of panting, Frisk came back to reality with a pained yelp. They clutched their throat and lowered their head. "O-ow," they murmured. "Probably shouldn't do that again until I get more used to talking."

"Th-that was a lot of emotion just there," Claire commented peeling herself from her hiding place.

Frisk just then noticed their guest and they blushed in embarrassment. They gave a bow. "S-sorry about that. That was supposed to stay in, not out."

Claire fluttered back to the child's eye level. "No, no, it's alright. I-I've felt like that before. I-I guess you're a "child" of Ms. Toriel too?"

Frisk nodded. "My name is Frisk, what's yours?"

"Claire, it's nice to meet you," The whimsun greeted as she shook hands with the child. She laughed lightly. "I-I didn't expect to meet another human so soon, I'm just having a lot of new experiences today."

"I can relate," Frisk replied wearily. A light beeping called the child's attention. They pulled out their phone. "I'm sorry, do you mind of I check this?"

"No go ahead. It might be important," Claire replied.

With the moth watching over their shoulder Frisk read the notification.

 **1 spider cider was removed from Ed's INV. 490 spaces remain.**

"Oh good, Ed's alright after all," Claire commented happily. "I was getting worried."

Frisk gave out a sigh of relief as well. They then found themselves drawn to the large gift box at the end of the room. In an effort to lighten the tension they felt, they decided to switch gears. "So, how did you guys get the spiders to give you free things?" They asked with a mischievous smile.

"I-it wasn't really free, we traded bot flies for them," Claire explained before she fluttered to the box.

"Bot flies?" Frisk asked as they followed suite.

"They're giant bugs that live in the wall cracks. Usually hard to find but really worth it if monsters like us want to leave the Ruins someday," The moth monster explained as she counted the contents in the box. Looking a little overwhelmed the moth looked back to the child. "Do you want a doughnut or a pitcher of cider Frisk?"

"Yeah," Frisk chirped. "Do you mind if I take some with me too?"

"I don't mind," The moth gave the child two pastries and a small pitcher. "There's way too much here for Vi and I to eat."

As Frisk and Claire ate from the box the vent in the next room growled to life. A few moments later a jubilant Ed flew out. He landed like he was stealing home plate in baseball.

"Level 3: Housewares," Ed said with a smile.

"Hey Ed, what were yo- AH!" Frisk interrupted themselves when Ed got up and faced them. Ed's shirt was so soaked in his blood it was sticking to his chest and stomach. "Wh-what happened to you?!"

"The exorcism didn't work too well," Ed replied without a care in the world. "But I'm ready to do it right this time!"

Frisk naturally was skeptical. "Th-that's a lot of blood Ed, a-are you really sure about that?"

"Yeah!" Ed revealed his new weapon from between his waist and his jacket "belt". "She left her weapon in me. That means she's defenseless now. Easy capture, easy purification, easy entry in the pokedex."

"So- you got stabbed by that?" Claire asked waking out of her confusion about what "blood" is.

"Yup, right in the udder," Ed said patting the area over his heart with his free hand, then his eyes widened. "Wait, that sounds bad. Am I alive?"

The child and the monster stared at Ed for a few moments before Claire decided to change the subject. "Do you want more food Ed?"

"Ooh I'm in," Ed replied dropping his philosophical question almost as soon as he brought it up. He jumped over the spikes and joined his friends around the box.

Frisk felt a mixture of awe and fear as they looked over Ed to see if he wasn't just pretending not to be hurt. They didn't see any wound or cut in his shirt as he scarfed down doughnuts like a fiend. The child's eternal respect for monster food development was not misplaced again. They drowned the rest of their trepidation in a swig of spider infused tartness and placed a gentle hand on Ed's arm. "It's good to see you're ok, big guy." They said giving him a warm smile.

Ed didn't say anything instead he placed a hand on Frisk's head and rubbed softly with an equally comforting expression. Frisk looked on edge for a moment, but after realizing what the boy was doing they slowly closed their eyes and gave a hum of delight.

Claire looked at the sight with content.

It didn't last as her feelers picked up something again. Something very powerful, and more importantly, very sinister. The presence was so powerful to her sensibilities it made her freeze in place and squeak in horror. This startled the humans out of their moment.

"What's wrong Claire?" Frisk asked.

"I-it's Ms. Toriel! I-I think she's in danger!"

"Danger?" Frisk inquired.

"Toriel?" Ed wondered aloud at the same time.

 **-CLANG-**

Everyone in the room jumped when a prolonged sound of impacted metal resonated through the room. When it ended the three looked at each other. Ed then lowered himself and Frisk hopped on his back. The boy then leapfrogged over the spikes and hightailed it into the perspective puzzle on all fours like a horse. Claire quickly grabbed 2 doughnuts, closed the box, and wobbly followed close behind.

 **Ruins – Boss pt. 2**

Sparks flew as the two women broke their clash over the deafening roar of Toriel's firewall. The trident-wielder followed up with a full body ram which sent the girl back. The distance was quickly recovered and the girl slashed downwards. Toriel blocked the attack throwing off the witch's hold on the blade. Toriel then bashed the witch in the side of the head with the butt of the trident and rushed forward with the pole against the girl's neck. The girl bounced off and fell backwards into a roll.

 **? health: 610/700**

As the witch skid to a stop, Toriel conjured up a blue flame in her free hand. **Palm Blazing** With a command and a collapse of her hand over the blue wisp, an enormous mimicry of Toriel's paw was conjured. The projection swiped across the area in front of her sending large columns of blue flames outwards in a circular motion. The giant hand then disappeared in a smoke puff. Unfortunately for her opponent Toriel wasn't finished as she sent out another Ember Wave as soon as the hand passed by.

Forced on the defensive, the girl narrowly dodged a column and swiped at a few embers that were nearby. More embers zoomed in and she was forced to swipe at them as well. This swipe put her in the trajectory of another plume of blue. With a howl the girl lunged out of the way, but ended up caught in a few embers that were hidden in the flume's wake.

 **? health: 590/700**

The girl hissed as the little devils tore small holes into her Yukata down to her flesh. She sent away her blade and moved her nettled arm front and center. She sent a volley of needles hurtling at the caretaker. Unlike the needles of her previous form, these needles were longer and were pale white in color. Toriel's eyes widened as the needles effortlessly cut through her embers. Some needles were burnt up in the last few columns that swept past the monster, but not nearly enough that she could disperse with her trident. She held it up to block anyway but she soon found herself grunting in pain as lower aimed needles found their mark in both her legs.

 **Toriel's health: 400/440**

 **Toxicity: 45%**

Toriel had no time to tend to her impromptu acupuncture as the witch gave what appeared to be a half smirk and opened up an assault of her own. Toriel hightailed it in a counterclockwise circle around the witch, being tailed by a multitude of quills that painted the walls of the room like a prickly top coat. As she spun Toriel's eyes glowed in a pattern of blue and orange. Then after a small rotation Toriel closed the gap in a spiral and responded in kind. **Sun Light, Moon Light** Her weapon flashed blue and she slashed at the witch horizontally. It struck into the girl's waist and sent her off-balance. Toriel followed up with another slash but the orange weapon phased through her wobbling opponent. She then gritted her teeth and swung the trident downwards against the girl's spine. The blue slash sent the girl down to her knees with a hiss. Toriel wound her trident back for an executioner's strike at the girl's exposed neck. Unaware that the girl had recalled her blade, and she was able to see the last color of the pattern.

 **? health: 500/700**

 **Toriel's health: 250/440**

 **Toxicity: 55%**

The Caretaker cried out in agony as the hackwitch slashed her chest, the orange trident harmlessly passing through her opponents jaw. The witch followed with a downward slash of her own, it connected to the goatwoman's left shoulder. In fear, Toriel threw Bergentrückung to the floor and called out another Helix Volley with her now freed hand. The witch was sent backwards by the ensuring stream, releasing her grip on the blade before she cut through the caster's arm. As the witch smoldered on the floor, Toriel pulled the weapon out and tossed it to the floor in front of her with a growl.

 **? health: 460/700**

 **Toriel's health: 200/440**

 **Toxicity: 60%**

 _All this time and my hatred for Voidsteel is still founded._ Toriel thought as she felt the tell-tale prickly sensation coursing through her body. She then placed a hand to her shoulder and with a silent command her magic started repairing it. However even with her magic, she had to fight the growing blurriness that continued to enter her vision. Questioning why, she placed a hand to her chest. Her magic had already sealed the wound but she didn't even need CHECK to understand why she her HP wasn't going up again. _Those needles must be doing something to my soul._ Toriel shook her head, and picked up her weapon. Briefly glancing at it she grew cross with the results it was giving her. _Dammit Asgore, I said eye telegraphy was a bad idea. It's just a giant tell I said. But no~ you wanted to make everything fair. Well, the demon now understands the only useful weapon attack this thing has you reject monk!_

With an angry yell she threw the trident to the floor, it disappeared with a load clash of metal. The sound roused the witch from her contemplation on the floor. She rose from the floor and shot a few quills. The Caretaker dodged them and her eyes glowed crimson as she grit her teeth. _That's it!_ _I'm done being civil!_ Toriel cracked her knuckles and summoned three small wisps of white flame in each hand. The witch wasted no time barreling at the goatwoman with renewed vigor. Toriel glowered and closed her hands over the wisps.

 **Мовчайте Чуму Трав'янистих земель: Розділяй і володарюй**

 **(Silence the Grasslands plague: Divide and Conquer)**

The witch brought down her fury down as light and heat filled the overlook. The light faded with the witch's machete pushing against two crossing sword arms tinged with glowing white and blue pitting in their blades. The hilts of the swords were laced in a golden alloy which reflected the lights, giving the weapons an almost white appearance. Toriel yelled and uncrossed her new summons, the blades erupted into a vibrant blue flame which sent her opponent flying backward. With a howl the witch rolled back onto her feet a few meters back and sent a volley of ivory needles in retaliation.

 **? health: 410/700**

 **Toriel's health: 200/440**

 **Toxicity: 70%**

Toriel slashed downwards, and massive wave of white flame barreled through the projectiles. The witch's eyes widened as her quills burnt and splintered under the heat. She was forced to dodge the wave and with no other real options sent another volley at her now pissed-off opponent. The Caretaker sent another wave through the volley and chided. "You don't get it, do you?"

This time it was Toriel who bridged the distance. The two women began exchanging blows. However the dynamic of the clash was less like a sword fight and more like one desperately trying to avoid being torn to pieces by the other. "Before the war," Toriel began as she hacked and slashed. "I was a child of a Warlord. During the war, I stood shoulder to shoulder with the strongest soldiers Monsterkind had. After the war, I was a Keeper of the Peace then later the second Captain of the Royal Guard." Toriel slammed the witch against the wall and tried to stab at her waist. Her opponent threw away her knife, grabbed the sword, and tried to raise her nettled arm.

"And after all that time in strife do you know what I still hate the most?" The goatwoman asked hypothetically as she sent her other blade into the nettle work. White and indigo smoke poured out of the wound around the burning sword as the witch's screaming echoed through the cavern. "Opportunists," Toriel increased the heat of her blades in an attempt to break the witch's grip. "Cowards like you who are willing to fight and kill people weaker than them, but when something stronger stands in the way they try everything in their power to not fight them directly."

 **? health: 290/700  
** **Partially-Pinned**

 **Toriel's health 200/440  
** **Toxicity 85%**

"Understand this, I'm not doing this because I want to," Toriel continued whether she said it for the witch or herself she didn't know want to dwell on. She forced her right blade into the witch's stomach sending out more white and black mist.

 **? Health: 150/700  
** **Pinned**

 **Toriel's health: 200/440  
** **Toxicity: 90%**

The witch grimaced as she feebly tried to push the blade out. Toriel held that hand in place as she started to open the witch's yukata to expose her chest. Or rather the large black cut above her chest. It was at this point that the witch appeared to understand what the goatwoman was planning. To Toriel's relief the witch's irises dilated and then she lowered her unpinned hand to her side. Almost as if she was accepting her defeat. "That's right. Don't make this harder on yourself," Toriel said still on edge. She placed her paw over the cut and made a small incantation. Her hands glowed a bright white and she felt a pull from deep within the witch's chest. A few moments later a deep vibrant purple light began to glow underneath the witch's cold skin.

 **Toriel's health: 200/440**

 **Toxicity: 95%**

 ***H-he's still alive?**

The glow started migrating to Toriel's palm but an elegant soft voice made the caller lose focus. She looked up in surprise and found the witch looking at the entrance to the room. She did the same and gasped. There stood both her "children" in between Vi and Claire behind the firewall. All four of them were jumping and cheering.

Toriel was so spellbound by this she didn't notice the indigo glow returning to the witch's eyes, nor the smile widening on her face. She didn't even notice the strange indigo aura that started surrounding her.

 ***I can still end this madness**

 **Toriel's health: 200/440  
** **Toxicity: 100%**

 **SPECIAL ATTACK ACTIVATED: LEY TOXIN TIMEBOMB**

 **The Witch placed her free hand on Toriel's chest.  
** **And the "Goatmom" saw her children's happiness turn to horror.  
** **As dark energy tore out of her body.  
** **Faster than the blink of an eye**

 **...**

 **? Health 150/700**

 **Toriel's health: 0/440**

 **...**

 **...**

No!

 **...**

 **…**

I won't lose someone I love again!

 **…**

 **WARNING**

 **Anomaly Rating increased to 55%**

 **Investigation needed...**

 **…**

 **…**

 **Ed's health 1/20**

 **Toriel's health 19/440**

 **...**

The FIGHT continues...


	7. Ruins Boss pt: 3

**Ruto-sai (RMIN Recording Transcript)** : It's funny you know, watching how everyone reacts to word of a Color attack. It happens, people get uppity for a few days, then as soon as the dust settles everyone just sort of forgets about it. Until you get one guy who creates an article with details from the attack and everyone loses their minds all over again. All of a sudden the poor schmuck gets bombarded with guilt-trips, death threats, and the like. Almost like, town council actively hushes up anyone who tries to bring the topic of Colors up.

The reason I'm bringing this up at all is that I'm actually interested in what people are doing to circumvent this practice. People online are starting to refer to Colors as "Puppets", a term from this new comic that's controversial right now. I believe it's called "Into the Inverse" or something like that. I don't know, it ain't really important. The reason I bring it up is that apparently the comic even has a guide about how to pacify a "puppet". Truth is, given what I read, it seems to mimic what that weird old man I'm doing community service for is doing. I wouldn't be surprised if some impressionable kid tries to follow that guide on a Color. And if they do I wish the fool the best in the world. Anything beats what we usually do.

In fact I believe if the guide does tell how to pacify Colors, we all may have a big problem to deal with. The Auxiliary had authorization to slay them without question for centuries. Good luck trying to sweep that under the rug, s'all I'm saying.

 **Ruins – Boss pt.3**

The cloud generated by the explosion wafted out of the overlook like a phantom, coating the room and the cavern beyond in a dark grape-colored mist. The cloud brought a deafening silence that placed the activity on the streets below to a screeching halt. The silence was quickly shattered by panicked screaming from the room leading to the overlook as the blue flames dissipated from the entrance.

"Guys, this the opposite of what I wanted to happen!" Ed wailed as he slithered face-down onto the floor, unintentionally taking Frisk down with him.

"(The children of my flies will feast on your corpses Shadow Beasts!)" Vi exclaimed hopping madly in the entrance but not actually attempting to enter the overlook.

"We're doomed!" Claire repeated like a chant as she laid in a puddle of her own tears. "Dooooooooooo-"

The voices coalesced together into a miasma of discontent and fear that got louder as it went on. Frisk was forced to cover their ears a few minutes later. When that didn't work they wiggled out from under Ed. "Guys!" They yelled as they got up to their feet. "Guys!" They repeated with a clap. This didn't pierce the yelling so they gave a loud whistle that did the job pretty effectively. The sharp staccato froze the group in place. "We need to pull ourselves together and finish what Toriel started!"

"(Yeah! Tell 'em kid!)" Vi cheered.

"Frisk, that puppet just turned Ms. Toriel into popcorn!" Claire stammered as she floated shamefully out of her puddle.

"Giving buttery goodness to the afterlife!" Ed added with a sob.

"Ok first of all, we don't know if she's actually gone yet," Frisk pointed out. They then gave a side-eye to Ed. "And secondly, Ed, that is really innuendo-y. Please don't say that again."

"You like Playstation instead?" Ed asked blowing his nose.

Frisk jerked awkwardly and grabbed Ed by his shoulders, "Ed, focus on me, focus alright? I know things are sad right now but I need you buddy. I'm running blind here."

Ed gazed deeply into their eyes and started calming down. "You have me."

Frisk's expression softened. "Ok, you said something about exorcism right? Can you still do it?"

Ed nodded. "She needs to be captured first or at least distracted enough that she won't notice me destroying her connection to the puppet master in her head."

Frisk's mind was racing. They didn't know how experienced Ed really was on the matter, but the evidence of the minutes prior didn't give them much time to weigh options. From what they could observe of the witch's mannerisms they believed that if Ed and them just went out swinging they probably wouldn't make it. And they believed running was not really an option because that would be giving the puppet access to the rest of the Underground. _My kingdom for a shine flower._ They thought discouragingly as they briefly glanced up at the ceiling.

Vi's eyes widened and his temper settled into a deep concern. "(Oh man, Ms. Toriel's not looking too good.)" He croaked.

The humans returned their attention to the overlook. The cloud finally lifted enough for Toriel to be seen. She was sprawled out against the wall, covered head and toe in long slender cuts that leaked out small wisps of gray smoke. Her head was down, and her breathing was labored to the point she was nearly gasping with each intake.

"Goatmom-" Ed murmured lowering his head. The rest of the group felt the sorrow in the boy's mannerisms as he lowered himself to the floor and covered his head with his hands. "Th- this is all my fault."

Frisk felt pangs in their heart. Ignoring the parallels they connected to past experiences, they lowered down to the Ed-boy's level and started rubbing the back of his head as he sobbed. "Ed, you didn't do anything wrong."

"Yeah," Claire fluttered close to the boy and started rubbing his back. "Ms. Toriel chose to fight, it had nothing to do with you."

"(As much as I want to join in the consoling session, I need to point out the problem we still need to deal with,)" Vi said nudging Ed to look back up. Toriel's opponent was standing beside her, weapon poised a few centimeters above the Caretaker's neck. The witch had by the looks of it receded her needles to place her free hand over her stomach wound. Despite the damage, the witch stared down at her opponent with a cocky smirk.

 ***I- have to give you some credit Soul-hunter. You certainly did better than the others that tried to kill me today.**

"Soul-hunter?"Frisk repeated to themselves quietly as they observed the witch gloat. They then felt a deep chill crawl down their back as they felt Ed rise to his feet slowly. They looked up and found something off about his eyes. They seemed to shine with an unusual intensity through his tears.

 _Step 2 Caviar: If capture is deemed too dangerous to others, the purifier may attempt to drive the puppet-master out of their charge by force. (Refer to macro 1275aq)_ Ed recited internally.

The witch gave a small laugh and raised her weapon.

 ***I appreciate the distraction, I was starting to believe this whole campaign was fruitless. If you held off, I would of left and the opportunity to save everyone would of slipped through my fingers.**

She rested her blade on her shoulder.

 ***So as a reward, I'll spare you goat. You deserve that much for surviving my special attack at any rate.**

A feeling of relief filled Frisk's heart. And they wanted to share it. "Guys, The puppet is sparing Toriel." Vi and Claire just looked at the child in confusion.

"How do you know that?" Claire asked cocking her head to one side.

This question in turn made Frisk confused.

"She- just said that she would," Frisk lightly pointed to the witch for emphasis.

Vi looked between the witch and the child. "(She didn't say anything though.)"

"W-what?" Frisk didn't compute Vi's simple explanation.

"Are you feeling alright Frisk?" Claire asked lightly touching the child's forehead. Frisk shook causing the moth to retract. Frisk looked at Ed and tried to ask for validation.

"Ed did you understand what she's sa-"

Frisk was interrupted by the sudden creation of another barrier between the group and Ed. Who, during the odd conversation walked into the overlook with a bright shine in his eyes. The barrier unlike the previous one was pure white in color and appeared as a series of white rectangular waves rapidly moving toward the center.

"(Ok, you need to check with me before you randomly create walls Ed,)" Vi grumbled a few moments after calming himself down from the shock.

"Ed created the HoJo wall?!" Frisk and Claire yelled simultaneously.

"(Yeah,)" Vi said nonchalantly. "(His eyes shined when it formed. I didn't think the two things were connected then.)"

The group was not the only ones surprised by Ed's ability. Toriel was able to see the barrier's creation first-hand. If she wasn't completely numb, she would of been shaking her head in disbelief. _Did- Ed just- create a pure barrier? B-but I thought it- took 7 humans for that!_

 _Ok, dust-up wall up._ Ed wiped his eyes, ignoring the awestruck reactions occurring around him. _And now for the macro._

 **b3MucnVuTWFjcm8oMTI3NWFxKTsKLi4uCi4uLgpwcm9jZXNzaW5nLi4uCi4uLgouLi4KLi4uCmltcG9ydChwdXJpZnkuYmF0KTsKY2hyIHQgPSBvcy5zZXRUYXJnZXQoVVNFUi5pbnRlcm5hbFZpc3VhbChMLFIpLm1haW5Gb2N1cyk7ClB1cmlmeSBwID0gbmV3IFB1cmlmeSgpCnAucnVuUHJvY2Vzcyh0KTsKV0FSTklORzogUnVubmluZyB3aXRob3V0IGNhcHR1cmUgcHJvY2VkdXJlcyBpbiBwbGFjZSB3aWxsIGNhdXNlIHVuaW50ZW5kZWQgZWZmZWN0cy4KRG8geW91IHdhbnQgdG8gY29udGludWU6IHkKLi4uCi4uLgpwcm9jZXNzaW5nLi4uCi4uLgouLi4KLi4uCkJlZ2lubmluZyBwcm9jZXNzLi4u**

The witch might as well of seen the devil with how fast she started shaking. Not so much because of the wall but because Ed's eyes were still shining.

And the fact that her long-destroyed heart started to race in her ears again.

Causing distant echos of the past to form in her head.

 ***No-**

The familiar pain of stabbing herself against her will.

 ** *No-**

Feeling her body rot while she was still conscious.

 ** *No!**

And finally, getting forcefully removed when she was finally found.

 ***PROGENITOR!**

She couldn't remember much about who caused all that.

Only that the perpetrator had almost the same soul signature as Ed.

 **That was all the justification she needed.**

 ***I WILL NOT GO BACK INTO THE VOID AGAIN! NOT BY YOU, NOT BY HER, NOT BY ANYONE!**

She charged with both hands on the machete's handle. Ed pulled out the santoku knife and held it like a samurai sword.

"You have hurt too many people already. You playtime ends here Shadow Beasts!" Ed roared as he pushed forward. He decided to go straight for the proverbial throat. **Exorcism without Capture.** "PURIFICATION IN PROGRESS!"

 **Ed's health: 1/20  
** **Fun: active  
** **Q29uc29sZQ==: active**

 **? health: 140/700  
** **Purification?: 1%**

…

"RUN AWAY!" Ed yelled as he ran around the overlook. A massive wave of needles narrowly whizzing behind him. It wasn't even 5 minutes into the fight when everyone in attendance realized that:

A: The witch had much more experience in fighting than Ed.

And B: Because they were unclear of what exorcism really is, No one had any idea if Ed was actually purifying the witch or not. Nonetheless they were willing to give encouragement.

"Duck and weave Ed! Duck and Weave!" Frisk called out. They were practically sweating bullets as they watched Ed dance with death.

"Go Ed! We're all rooting for you!" Claire added with a cautious enthusiasm.

"(He's actually really good at dodging those things. It reminds me of my older brother when the dodge-ball fad was in,)" Vi mused as a coating of needles bounced off the barrier making a slight noise akin to coins falling on a wood floor.

Luckily for Ed, the witch had started their fight with the strains and wounds from her previous bout, if her increasingly haggard breathing was any indication. The residual burning sensation in her arm and stomach was still very present. Which, compounded by her belief that her opponent was dangling a guillotine over her throat pushed her to more desperate tactics. In this desperation, she was ignoring the other element in the room.

Unfortunately due to the toxin coursing through her, Toriel was forced to watch the events unfold with no ability to move let alone assist in any way. _Ed what are you doing? Fight or Run away, there's no way to solve this otherwise._ She thought as she tried desperately to talk. The only thing able to squeak out being a short light bleat. The outright embarrassment and uselessness of her current state riled up her nerves more than anything. _Oh what am I doing? I can't help him like this._ She closed her eyes and tried a silent check command on herself. The results were about what she expected: almost all her magic was either rendered immovable by the toxin as well, or already being tasked with keeping her wounds from getting worse. The thought of tempering with that immediately crossed her mind. _Ok, best case: I have enough to get some ley energy out and healing before I lose the rest of my HP. Worst case: I turn to dust immediately. Great odds._ She sighed. It wasn't really a choice. It was a risk she would of accepted for all her children if she had the chance to do so. And this child would not be an exception. _Ed, just give me a bit of time. I will help you out soon._ After another deep breath, she steeled all her resolve together and rolled the dice.

 **Toriel's health: 18/440  
** **Toxin: 100%  
** **Ensuna : active**

 **? health: 129/700  
** **Purification?: 15%**

 ***You think you can outlast me? I've slayed my way outta death, I can slay you too!**

The witch gnashed her teeth and called out her blade.

"Ed! Melee!" Claire yelled out. Ed's eyebrow rose in confirmation and he drew out his knife. Just in time to duck a forward slash that was aimed at his throat. In response the witch brought her machete down. Ed bounced out of the way and with his Santoku in the grip of his mouth ran on all fours to gain some distance. It was here that he started noticing small squares appear around his opponent's body.

 _The Inverse has shown itself already?_ Ed narrated to himself after rising back to his feet a good distance away. _I'd better take advantage of that._ With a determined glare he stood at the ready as the puppet closed the distance. With a yell she swiped at Ed's chest. The Ed-boy countered by swinging his knife up, parrying the machete mid-swing. A distinct clang of metal echoed through the overlook as the witch lost her momentum. Which was capitalized by Ed slashing a few centimeters away from her chest, cutting a few of the semi-translucent squares that hovered there. Doing so caused the witch to make a curt scream as her body seemed to split apart in squares before reforming a second later. The cut he left behind appeared as a thin line of bright light.

"Home delivery!" Ed yelled as he, without pomp and circumstance, just jammed his fingers in it.

A strong outburst of violet-colored light and dust erupted through the room. The spectators to this whole sequence blocked their eyes from the light until it dissipated. The flash only lasted a few moments leaving behind much to everyone's surprise: the witch laying face-up near the wall on the opposite side of the room and no Ed in sight.

Toriel, Frisk, Vi, and Claire had similar reactions. Eloquently summarized by this next statement:

 **"What the hell just happened?!"**

...

A vast darkness and the light sensation of blowing wind graced Ed when he opened his eyes. He immediately shook hastily to get rid of the tingling sensation, and then took in the dark nothingness around him with confusion. "Huh? The comic never said anything about this. Frisk? Are you in my head again?" There was no response. This causing him to look around more alertly. Suddenly, a small cluster of squares appeared out of the dark and assembled themselves into a small child. Ed was too preoccupied to notice this happen, so the appearance of the child shocked him a little bit when he looked back.

"Oh Frisk, there you are," Ed said in relief. "I like your Inverse clothes."

Indeed, the child had enough characteristics to be easily assumed to be Frisk's twin. The "twin" had the same clothes Frisk wore as well but with different colors: Green with yellow stripes for the shirt, and Dark gray pants. The differing factor was their red eyes and a faint flush at the near top of their cheeks.

The child eyed the Ed-boy and smiled. "Well, well, what do we have here?" The child asked with a airy giggle. "If I knew I was going to have a guest. I would of spruced the place up more."

Hearing the slightly different voice, Ed asked. "Did the Inverse change your voice too?"

The child narrowed their eyes but their smile didn't waver. "Oh, I think you must be mistaking me for my partner. Don't feel bad, it happens all the time." The child then bowed. "Greetings, I am **Chara**."

"Hello," Ed made a small bow back. "I'm Ed, it's a pleasure to meet you, **Yousuke**."

At this the child rose with a look of surprise. After peering at their guest for a few moments, their smile faded. They sighed disappointingly and started forming a chef knife in their right hand. "You threw your hat in with that old lady, didn't you?"

"Who?" Ed asked. The child sensed the genuine confusion in the boy's voice.

The child stared at Ed's chest with a confused look. The aura signature the boy's soul was emitting felt familiar. The child couldn't make any real recollection about where they felt it before. Only that it was enough to have the child wanting to hold off sending the knife through the boy's neck. They discreetly dismissed their cutlery and decided to entertain their curiosity instead. "What brings you here, Ed?" They asked trying to be as polite as possible.

"I was exorcising a puppet being controlled by cosmic forces and- I ended up here after I tried to break the first connection," Ed replied patting his chest. "Do you know where that is in here?"

"Puppets?" The child asked before grasping at a brief connection from their brief times on the surface. "You mean like- Colors right?"

"Shhh," Ed shushed the child suddenly. "You'll get in trouble if you say that out loud. It's better to call them "Puppets"."

The child's eyes lit up. An inkling of an idea crept into their head. "Oh I see, you're trying to purify puppets. In that case I do know about connectors, but- the process will take a long time if you try searching for them. I can give you an easier way if your interested."

"You know how to exorcise?" Ed asked surprised.

"Of course I do, I'm here aren't I?" The child tilted their head with a wink.

Ed couldn't argue with the child's logic. Those that can travel the Inverse were considered more powerful than the exorcists according to Ed's comic."Sounds legit to me. What do I do?"

"All you need to do is take the puppet's soul when you enter the realm again," The child shrugged with a sly grin. "If there's no soul, there's no control."

"Hey, that rhymes," Ed pointed out with a grin.

"That's how you know it's legit," The child added. "I'll even help yo-"

A crack of light broke through the darkness. Surprising both parties.

"I think I spent too much time here," Ed concluded looking at the rapidly fragmenting atmosphere. He turned back to the child staring angrily at it. Ed gave a reassurance. "Don't worry, I'm sure we'll see each other again."

The child glanced back at Ed. Then their smile returned, "I believe so too. Give my regards to my partner for me."

"I will, until we meet again!" Ed yelled happily as the light started engulfing him.

The light faded leaving the child alone again.

However the child wasn't too bothered by it.

Their encounter caused the flames of their **determination** to burn brightly again.

They immediately started brainstorming a way to capitalize on their new game piece.

They needed more information.

They needed to talk to their **partner**.

 **Comedian** be damned.

…

 **Anomaly Rating has been reduced.**

 **Current rating at 37% and holding.**

...

The sound of broken glass erupted through the overlook as Ed fell backwards onto the floor. The small outline of squares that marked his entrance, or rather, his exit swirled and disappeared as quickly as they appeared. Ed slid to a stop with the top of his head touching his barrier with a grin on his face. "Hi guys!" He greeted with a guffaw. "What'd I miss?"

He didn't take account the stunned expressions of his friends. Frisk was practically white in the face. Vi and Claire were hiding behind them trembling. And Toriel was, well, still kind of numb so reaction was not really possible for her yet. But internally she was having a "Screaming Game".

"Ed- what- what are you doing?" Frisk asked as they edged closer to the mystic wall.

"I'm expanding my knowledge of Exorcism!" Ed exclaimed with his arms out-raised. Ed's failure of reading the situation made Frisk bang their head against the barrier.

"That's not what I mean," Frisk replied, frustration growing in their voice. "What are you doing to cause this to happen?"

Ed glanced at his armband nervously. Then looked at Vi and Claire as they wandered closer to the barrier again. Ed then scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "I'm learning Human Magic."

The group looked at him with shock. "(Humans can learn magic?!)" Vi asked.

"Vi, that's why we're down here," Claire whispered.

"(Oh, right,)" Vi acknowledged with an embarrassed laugh. "(Sorry, it's been a long day.)"

There was only one thing on Frisk's mind. "Wait, doesn't dabbling in our magic cause people to go insane though?"

Ed shook his head lightly. "Not if you don't think about it."

"Mmed!" Toriel's slurred alert called Ed back to attention just in time to watch a seething witch barrel after him with blade held high. Ed, thinking fast, dug his fingers into the ground around him and pulled. Two large pieces of lavender stone cracked out of the floor at the same time as the witch stabbed her sword down. Ed slammed these pieces against the blade, catching it just a few centimeters above his chest.

"Hey!" Ed yelled out. "You already showed the class what you can do. It's my turn for show and tell!" He pushed the girl away with his feet. Inadvertently kicking the wound in her torso. She skid still on her feet a good distance away. Instead of leaping back in, she doubled over and howled.

 **? health: 100/700  
** **Purification?: 45%**

The squares around the witch intensified in the time Ed took in the Inverse. Her heartbeat was more liken to war drums by that point as well. The fact she was still standing at this point was starting to boggle the minds of the group.

Ed dropped his rocks and spotted Toriel. Who in stark contrast was faring much better now than before Ed dived in. She was standing again with her more grievous wounds rendered almost non-existent. If it wasn't for her wobbly stance and slurred speech, no one would of thought she was still afflicted by the witch's toxin at all.

 **Toriel's health: 77/440  
** **Toxin: 35%  
** **Ensuna: active**

"Goatmom, are you ok?" Ed asked lightly as he walked up to her. The monster's answer was to pull him into a warm hug with a sigh of relief.

"I mam mow," She cooed rubbing Ed's back as she felt him nuzzle his cheek against her shoulder. There wasn't much time for reunion and respite however as the witch rose her nettles to begin another shooting round. Toriel quickly rose her left hand with a glare, and the heat of the witch's wounds intensified. White mist bellowed out of the witch's arm and gut, causing her to finally drop to her hands and knees. The violet light within the witch's chest started to glow brightly again as she screamed.

 **? health: 70/700  
** **Purification?: 55%  
** **V2l0aGluIENhcHR1cmUgUGFyYW1ldGVycw==  
** **V2l0aGluIFJFTU9WRSBwYXJhbWV0ZXJz**

"Wait!" Ed blurted out, pulling himself out of an impromptu nap. "I can't save the human inside if the puppet gets destroyed!"

"Med, that's mot a muppet," Toriel replied as firmly as her goofed up enunciation would allow. "That is a damgerous spirit mose only desirem is death mand destruction."

"Her desirem is death mand destruction now yes, but that isn't what she really wants. That's what the Shadow Beasts want. When I purify the controller out of her she will want to be a good person," Ed pleaded.

"Med, I-," Toriel was about to retort but she immediately had to shake her head. The magic of her Розділяй і володарюй was starting to awaken again. And no matter what she did, she couldn't remove her gaze from Ed's bloodstained shirt. The events that just transpired weighed against her as well when she tried looking away. Especially the square kaleidoscope slowly engulfing the ailing witch. Warily she returned to her eager child and asked, "Have you- mone this- purmification before?"

"I've seen it done before," Ed said. "And I just got some good advise when I was in the Inverse." He then smiled. "Don't worry, there is no way this will fail."

 _He's jinxing himself._ Frisk and the others thought simultaneously.

 _He's definitely confident, but I can't tell if this is because of hope or naivete._ Toriel closed her eyes and ping-ponged the options for a few moments. She then gulped and reluctantly gave her decision. She lowered her arm and released Ed from their embrace. "Ok, I'll let you do whatever you're planning. But- if she tries to pull a fast one I won't hesitate." Her eyes turned downcast as her heart filled in the rest. _I thought I lost you before, I wouldn't be able to handle it if I did now._

"It won't come to that," Ed replied warmly. "I know it."

His sincerity may of seemed foolhardy to Toriel. But she was also deeply impressed with Ed's ability up to that point so she was willing to swallow her protective instincts just this once. "Just- be careful, alright?" Toriel asked with a smile candy-coating her worry.

"I will. Thanks Goatmom," Ed just nodded with a content smile. He then turned to the downed witch. "I'll be back in a little bit! Love you!" He looked back with a cheerful wave.

Toriel wanted to reply but her voice got caught in her throat. A huge smile crept across her face. Keeping her emotions in check she just simply said. "Love you too."

 **Toriel's health: 104/440  
** **Toxin: 10%  
** **Ensuna: active**

 **Ed's health: 1/20  
** **Fun: active  
** **Q29uc29sZQ==: active**

 **? health: 30/700  
** **Purification?: 72%  
** **V2l0aGluIENhcHR1cmUgUGFyYW1ldGVycw==  
** **V2l0aGluIFJFTU9WRSBwYXJhbWV0ZXJz**

With the witch completely unable to move in her pixelated veil, Ed walked with purpose up to the front of her and knelt down. Then with his knife he slashed into the squares over the witch's chest again. Ed's determination grew as he inserted his fingers into the seam. He closed his eyes as the light engulfed him. He then re-opened them when he felt the wind. Only for him to face-plant onto the cement of what looked to be a rooftop for a high school. Under a sky that seemed to stutter visually like a broken video recording.

Seeing the Inverse just as he saw in his comic and the descriptions from his former caretaker filled Ed with **determination**.

 **RUINS SEQUENCE END**

 **INVERSE (VIOLET) TANGENT BEGIN**

 **HOME SEQUENCE BEGIN**


	8. Home Act 1

**-static-**

"Look Abe, I hate to be that guy. But this is crazy even for you," A lean-built man with short pinkish-white hair grumbled as he watched his co-worker's new son through the rearview mirror stick his head out of the window.

"What's crazy about it Doggie?" The long black haired man on the passenger side inquired pushing up his glasses. "You don't have faith in my parenting?"

"Not really, you're the last person I would of thought of to actually go through the process of adopting someone," The man nicknamed Doggie stated returning his eyes to the road. "Especially someone with his- eh- I'm going to call it uniqueness."

"Ino don't be judgy," Abe lightly scolded.

"I'm not trying to be judgy, you have to see what I'm talking about," Ino defended pointing out the fact the kid had his head out in the wind with his tongue out at that point. "That ain't normal."

"It ain't anything developmental therapy can't fix," Abe waved off Ino's concern.

"Hey Papa Ino where we going again?" The red-haired boy asked after the truck stopped at a light. Abe smirked as Ino gave him a glare.

"I'm still blaming you for that," Ino muttered quietly. He then refocused to Ed's inquiry. "We're going on a Task, something about a missing kid."

Ed's eyes widened. "Were they taken by the Goatman?"

Ino swallowed his knee-jerk reaction. Knowing that after 3 months of knowing his new god-son it was completely useless to explain to him that the Goatman wasn't real. Instead he shook his head and spoke with a deadpan expression. "We'll figure that out when we get there."

"Well, the orphanage we're going to is the same one the first child came from," Abe remarked enjoying the exasperated sigh from his best friend.

"It's been three months since you started that inane investigation. If you haven't found anymore evidence by now bothering the matrons about something that happened 150 years ago isn't going to help much," Ino explained. The treeline along the crowded road gave way to bustling market stalls, music, and people in festival clothes walking around.

"Did we miss a memo?" Ino asked looking around.

"Must be the beginning of the Summer's End festival," Abe theorized. "First Gear Shrine always start their events before everyone else."

"Well if we're looking for a kid we can always check here first," Ino mused. He briefly looked at Ed. The boy was not paying any attention to the conversations in the truck. Too mesmerized by the colors and smells of the festival proper.

"Doggie!" Abe yelled suddenly.

Ino faced forward only to see a small tuft of brown race in front of his truck. He cursed sharply slamming the brake down. The truck forcibly halted sending the two other occupants of the truck lunging forward. It took a few moments for the men to regain their composure.

"Ed! Are you alright?!" Abe asked in fear. Ed was upside down in his seat but was otherwise unharmed.

"Do I need a ticket to go again?" Ed asked with a smile.

Abe sighed in relief. Ino pulled the truck in park and threw open his door with a growl.

" _What the hell are you doing?!_ "Ino roared in Japanese to the tuft trembling in front of the grill.

" _I'm s-sorry! I'm sorry!_ " squeaked the tuft in fear, rapidly bowing based on the interpretation of the hair moving up and down.

" _You damn right sorry! I could of sent you to the next town in pieces just now!_ " Ino then pointed the way the tuft was going before it could sputter out anything else. " _Now get out of here!_ "

The kid raced out of the road as fast as their little legs could carry them. The blur of brown, blue, and purple stripes quickly disappeared into the crowd leaving Ino to voice the rest of his anger with a hard tap of his fist on the hood of the truck. He was back in the truck a minute later pinching his nose in frustration. After a few deep breaths he finally acknowledged credit were it was due. "Good looking out Old Man."

"I try," Abe answered. "Great reaction time Papa Ino."

Ino lowered his head as Abe and Ed lightly laughed. He now slightly regretted making himself Ed's caretaker in the event something happened to his partner-in-crime.

 **-static-**

…

Sans opened his eye-sockets in surprise as the kaleidoscope of images faded to the light glowing ambiance of his Waterfall-Hotland way-station. He made quick glances around at the light crowd of monsters making their evening commutes. A few moments later the static he heard faded as well leaving him in a slightly panicked state. It was the second time it happened. _w-where is that coming from? who were those guys?_ He thought feeling the sweat gather on the back of his skull. He tried moving his fingers and looked down when he heard the light sound of cracking.

His finger-bones were dug deep into the hardened wood of his sentry station. And the cracking was the wood starting to give way when he pulled back.

 _i understand the use of a hands-on approach but this is ridiculous,_ he half-joked to himself. A cursory pull later and the chunk of wood gave way, freeing his hands at the cost of some of his counter. He wiggled his flanges and sighed in relief. He then finally wiped his skull with his sleeve then rose his eye lights back to the thinning crowd as a cheery melody began playing throughout the cavern. The monsters didn't acknowledge the sound as they continued their comings and goings. Sans however perked up a little bit. Because A: It was the end of his shift and B: it was Thursday.

Sans closed his eye-holes and commanded in his head.

 **bridge the gap: root station**

Then with a tickle in his spine and a flash of blue in his eye, he walked away from the station deeper into Hotland. The molten heat instantly gave way to the bitter cold of Snowden Forest, and a woman's roar.

" **Pioggia di Paura!** "

Followed by a series of loud clanging sounds that echoed through the treeline. Sans called his ability again and stepped down the only path connected to his station. When he reappeared he saw a congregation of assorted clothed dogs and Papyrus, watching a figure in knight armor from a good distance away. The knight jabbed a conjured spear of blue light against a large elaborate door-like decoration carved in the cliff face. The decoration emitted a bright white light in rejection to the figure's magic. Along with a slight hissing sound that the woman in dark gray armor realized was coming more from the spear than the door itself. Sans noticed everyone in attendance looked tense as well, so he decided to hang back and not announce his presence just yet.

"Darn it! You won't beat me that easily!" The woman exclaimed while jumping back. She stabbed the spear into the snow by her feet. " **Guanto di Spiedino!** " The spear dissolved quickly into a circular horizontal disk then moved forward along the ground. Duplicating itself into multiple other disks as it went. The disks reached the door in an unorganized mass then the center of the circles morphed into spear heads that struck at the door in various angles. Taking the initiative the woman willed a glowing blue aura to coat the metal covering her fist. The glow started to turn to ice as the woman growled. "It's over!" The woman commanded moments later. She then leaped into the air, kicking up snow as she went. The uprooted snow swirled around her fist as she reeled it back. " **Ice Shooter! Tier 4!** " She swung her fist forward, causing a massive aura of blue and white to fly.

The aura struck the door with a sound of a gong and erupted into an ice crystal that grew rapidly over the wall of light. Only for the crystal to immediately crack outward not even seconds later, sending a mighty gale of diamond dust back. Covering over the warrior and her congregation. A moment in the blind passed before the warrior was able to see her handiwork. "What?!" She exclaimed suddenly at the sight of the door completely untouched. The light still holding strong. The only evidence that something even happened was a quick pop and a whiff of black smoke that appeared in the bush right next to the door itself. Under the visage of her helmet her eye twitched. As much as she hated to admit, overwhelming force wasn't going to cut it. Especially against what she now realized was the work of a monster with a dual specialty. A quick scan of the rock surrounding the door didn't provide a viable way either. The cliff face surrounding the north side of Home was completely saturated with leystone deposits. She would of made better headway digging into it with a metal spoon rather than with her spear.

She shook her head with a growl then turned to face the crowd. "Alright, listen up Canine Unit!" The woman commanded. The dogs rose to their feet and saluted with a bark in unison. "I'm ramping up patrols for the next two weeks, if any sight or soul leaves through that door I need be the first to know about it. Am I clear?" She waited till the dogs gave their confirmation. "Report to your stations at First Flare tomorrow morning. Dismissed."

The congregation started to disperse but the tension was still very thick. When the warrior started to leave she noticed Papyrus and stopped abruptly. "Uh, hey Papyrus," She greeted, trying to ignore the awkwardness she was feeling. "Didn't expect you here."

The tall skeleton pulled himself out of his thoughts at her voice. "Hey Undyne," He grinned nervously. "I tried to call you back. And you didn't answer so I got concerned. I didn't expect to be here either."

The woman removed her helmet and allowed the small fins on her cheeks to flutter. "At least you understand why I can't train you for a few days at least," Undyne replied somberly. "Sorry 'bout that."

Papyrus placed a gloved hand on his blue scaled mentor's shoulder. "You're Captain of the Royal Guard, it's your job to handle serious things," Papyrus reassured. "And even though I don't know what a BNC is, I can tell this is more serious than the other things you do for your job. Besides it'll give me good experience that I can use when I become a Royal Guard."

Undyne's free eye widened slightly. "Uh, what will?"

"I want to help with the patrols too," Papyrus grinned hopefully. "Also, I had a few ideas for puzzles rattling around in my head for the past few days. If they work then maybe I can help capture the one responsible for causing this "BNC" as well. If- if you want me to that is."

Undyne policed her appearance. "A-actually I- I want to make sure you don't get rusty on you training while I deal with this. So, how about I give you new techniques to try out instead?"

"R-really?! New techniques?!" Papyrus asked. His body was shaking in excitement.

"Yeah, I feel like you earned it," Undyne gave a wry grin. Releasing her fists she was unaware she was making by her side.

"Wowie!" Papyrus was so overflowing with glee Undyne could feel a powerful influx of latent energy grow inside his soul. "It feels just like yesterday when you taught me my first technique. Now I'm going to know a second technique, maybe a third! I need to get supplies! I need to get pots and pans! I- I need to make space in my food museum!"

"Yeah! Food prep! I love it!" Undyne exclaimed with a wild grin. The passion of the skeleton ignited her passion as well.

"First Flare?" Papyrus asked.

"You know it!" Undyne saluted. "Dismissed!"

"Right!" Papyrus saluted then to the fish woman's surprise disappeared with a brief flux in the scenery. Leaving a small rapidly disappearing cloud of yellow light behind.

After a brief moment of stunned silence, Undyne looked around slowly for anyone else then sighed in relief. She then started walking away, unaware of Sans who was hiding in the tree cover. He waited a few minutes for the coast to actually be clear before he re-emerged onto the pathway. A tinge of fear hidden behind his constant grin. He walked cautiously to the battered decoration and rose his fist.

"knock knock," He spoke as he tapped on the door.

Moments pass.

"... Are they gone?" A quiet voice responded on the other side of the wall. Sans exhaled.

"yeah, it's just me now," Sans wiped where his brow would of been with his sleeve. "you alright? you sound tired."

The feminine voice answered with a sigh. "As you probably already know, I had a lot on my plate today."

"so, I guess dishes a bad time then?" Sans asked. Despite the pun he intended the question to be taken seriously.

"Maybe not, if you platter me," The woman answered with a mischievous slant. It tickled the spine of her cohort.

Sans chuckled. "well you seem to be open to my saucer good enough. do you want me to start?"

"A-actually before we start," The woman in the wall replied hesitantly. Sans heard a sigh. "Do- you remember the promise- I asked you for after Gyftmas last year?"

Sans's eye-sockets narrowed as his inner feelings of remembrance chilled his soul. "yeah, what about it?"

A moment passed.

"I- really shouldn't be telling this to anyone. But- even though I don't know your name, I trust you," The woman sounded like it was a real struggle for herself to talk. At least it felt like it to the lazy sentry. "I- found a human and a terracotta this morning."

"well- that," Sans gulped. "certainly explains the light magic."

"Please, please don't say anything to anyone about this," The woman pleaded. "This is really important."

"why are you telling me this?" Sans asked gently. "you- think they're dangerous?"

"Oh no no, they didn't cause the BNC. They didn't hurt anyone in here. In fact, the human made a couple friends with the locals already," The woman reassured. "It's just that- when the human is done with whatever he's doing, and if he's determined enough to leave; I- I don't know if I would have the heart to stop him. I- may need you to look over him if he does, just in case."

"and- what about the 'cotta?" Sans probed.

The woman hesitated. "Mind if I be a little off the cuff?"

"only if you allow me the same honor."

"Well- for some reason or another, when I first saw her I felt- scared."

"oh?"

 _frisk is a girl this time?_

"I know it must sound kind of silly. An old lady like me being scared of someone she never met."

 _not as silly as you'd think_ Sans thought darkly. He realized what the chill he was feeling meant then and there.

It rained somewhere else.

"Though, I'm happy that my feeling wasn't warranted," The woman said happily. "She's very smart, and she cares about others just as well as the human does."

"oh, that's good," Sans commented. Internally he didn't really care if the kid was good or bad. If what the fragments of his memory were telling him, he experienced both options too many times it was easier for him to just assume the kid didn't have a compassionate bone in their body. Boy or girl.

He was curious though so he asked. "what are their names?"

The answer he was met with deeply confused him. One name was a complete mystery, but the other one caused him to feel something in his soul. Something strangely warm and familiar. The problem was, that name was also foreign to him.

"I should probably get back on topic," The woman said finally. "Can I trust you to keep your promise?"

Sans took a quick moment to stifle his clashing feelings then answered. "yeah, you don't gotta worry about 'em. i'll practically be their shield if they ask."

"Thanks, that's really reassuring," the woman in the wall said warmly. "I'm ready to start if you are."

"i thought you'd never glass."

The woman snorted. "Oh come on, you did that on purpose!"

"i wouldn't say that, i don't own a dolphin," Sans rebuked with a smirk. The woman's howling laughter caused him to laugh too.

The Day Lantern high above him gave one last emission of light before rapidly sending the underground into "night". The laughter from Sans and the woman on the other side of the wall would continue for a few hours afterwards.

 **Home - Act 1**

I open an eye to a bright light, and the first thing I see is a blurry circular thing. I blink a few times and the object turns into a clock.

9:25 I think it says. The big hand is past the 5, that much is true.

I try to move but it feels like the rest of me is still sleeping. Which is weird. I don't remember falling asleep. I force myself up, only succeeding in sitting on the edge of the bed while my legs feel like they're getting poked by tiny needles.

Maybe needles is not the right thing to say right now after what just happened. I look around the room, focusing a little on the rows of shoes and the toys scattered in a pile. I'm definitely in Toriel's house. But the question is how did I get here? I remember Ed disappearing again into that weird lady's boobs and that's it, nothing.

I need to ask Toriel.

 _Mental note: Anything More than Zero is a Positive Created_

I focus on the small piece of pie on a plate on the floor with a small note. The filling of the pie is light blue.

Frisk: "Urg- snail pie."

I know Toriel said before "it's an acquired taste," but I didn't get the taste for it before. And I'm really sure I won't get it now. I pull out my cellphone. Into the INV abyss with you foul confectionery.

 **Snail Pie Piece added to INV. 496 spaces remaining.**

I can't get over that. Ed, I don't know how you got so much pocket space, but I- am- not- complaining about it.

 **Snail Pie Piece removed from INV. 497 spaces remaining.**

Frisk: "Uh."

 **Ed's HP was maxed.**

 **Ed is now affected by DIZZY.**

Oh, the Inventory is linked between us.

 _Personal: Pack Mare Nine-Hundredaire_ _Updated_

I put my hands together for a quiet prayer. Sorry big guy. Annoying Dog watch over his mortal soul. I hold the pose for a few minutes, clap twice, then open my eyes to the note left behind.

 _Dear Frisk,_

 _If you are reading this, I apologize. I wasn't able to get to the grocery store last night, so I decided to go now. I asked Vincent and Claire to watch you while I'm gone, so if you need anything they might be able to help. If they're actually doing their job._

 _Be good,_

 _Toriel._

 _P.S Sorry about the snail pie. I don't have much else to eat right now. It's an acquired taste, so don't feel obligated to finish it if you don't like it._

She doesn't have much faith in other monsters does she?

Wait-

Does that mean-

If I wanted to leave the ruins, I could do it without Toriel knowing?

I look around the room.

I need to find out.

I lay the note back down and get to my feet. The prickly feeling is still there but it's a lot better than it was.

…

Ok, I can't. She has her magic blocking the way. She definitely doesn't have faith in Vin or Claire. Though to be fair, I'm down here, and I didn't see them on the way. I turn away from the wall of blue fire and walk back down the hallway and up the stairs. Let's see where my babysitters went to.

I open the front door.

?: ***Stop staring at me toad-thing.**

Vi: ...

?: ***If you want to kill me, do it!**

Vi: (angry frog noise)

Well this is unexpected. Toriel tied the needle lady to the dead tree. Vi notices me and jumps over. He seems... concerned? It's really hard to tell. Froggits typically don't wear their emotions on their sleeve. The monotone voice doesn't really help matters either.

Vi: "(Frisk, you alright? You feel together?)"

Yes, it's concern.

Frisk: "Y-yeah I'm alright, why wouldn't I be?"

I'm going to pretend the stutter was reassuring.

Vi: "(No, you shouldn't be "alright". You shouldn't be able to move around yet after what happened last night.)"

Without warning Vi starts nudging me back to the house with his body. I plant my feet into the ground, stopping the froggit in his tracks. It's an even struggle on both sides as we push against each other.

Vi "(Go on, back to- bed with you.)"

Frisk: "Hey, hey wait a minute!"

Gah! He's so cold and gooey! No! Focus! I need answers!

Frisk: "What do you mean- I shouldn't be able to move? What happened last night?"

Vi: "(Your HP dropped to one- and you passed out, that's what happened.)"

Frisk: "Isn't that- what healing- is for?"

Vi: "(Yeah- it is. It won't- help you though.)"

Frisk: "W-what?"

I move forward causing the frog to fall forward. He talks again into the dirt. It would have been funny if what he said didn't leave a bad feeling in my stomach.

Vi: "(Check your Stats, you'll see it.)"

I pull out the cellphone as Vi readjusts himself. Switching to Stats I check myself.

" **Frisk"**

 **HP: 1/1**

One- one- one- one HP? Oh, oh no. I- I- Mommy.

Vi: "(Woah! Hang on! Hang on! I gotcha, I gotcha. Claire! Get out here! Now!)"

Cold- cold- m-mustard seed.

 _Personal: Anything More than Zero is a Positive_ _Complete_

…

-thimp-thimp- -thimp-thimp- -thimp-thimp-

W-what?

-thimp-thimp- -thimp-thimp- -thimp-thimp-

What am I hugging?

?: "F-frisk?"

Something fuzzy grazes my neck as the thing I'm holding moves.

Frisk and ?: "Ah!" / "P!"

I fall to the floor with a start, taking the blanket and whoever I'm holding with me. I release my hug quickly and the milky-white visage of Claire wiggles out from under the discarded fabric. Her fuzzy hands and feelers risen and trembling.

Claire: "Frisk, i-it's Ok. It's just me."

Frisk: "I can see that! Why were you in my bed?!"

Claire: "B-b-because when you passed out again an hour ago you latched on to me when me and Vitriedtomoveyouandwecouldn'tgetyouoff!"

Thank Kami for my time with Alphys, 'cause there was no way I would of been able to understand that otherwise. I feel my anger start to subside. I must of gotten grabby again without knowing it. I- thought I lost that after all this time.

Claire: "It w-was Vi's idea to just place you back into bed with me in your arms. I told him it was a bad idea. B-but he didn't want want to bring M-miss Toriel into this. A-and after the scare you gave us the night before. I- I- Uwah! I'm so sorry! Please don't hate me!"

Drats, now I feel guilty for being angry now. I didn't mean to make her cry.

I hold the trembling monsters' hand and slowly pull her into another hug.

Frisk: "Claire, I don't hate you."

I then explain my weird habit to her. Before this endless Underground adventure started, I had this habit. At night I would sleepwalk to another kid's bed and get into it while they're sleeping. Once I'm in I would hug them in a tight grip that I held until I woke up. As one would expect the other kids didn't take too kindly to it at first. Then for some reason after a few days of this happening the other kids just- stopped caring for some reason. Some even seemed to want me to visit them at night. The matrons didn't really know what of make of it. But after a few months this habit of mine seemed to make everyone in the orphanage happier so they must of not seen the point in stifling it. I keep the fact I came from an orphanage out. For what it's worth, I chose the Underground as family a long time ago.

I finish my explanation.

I feel like I'm walking on eggshells with the look she's giving me.

Frisk: "Does- that make sense?"

Claire: "You must have a really strong soul then."

Frisk: "Huh?"

Claire: "I- I don't really know the reasoning behind this, I'm not really a scientist. B-but I read that those who have a very strong soul can make another soul stronger just by being in close contact with them. Do you think that might be why the other kids became happier?"

How would I know if it did or not? I don't usually get the chance to ask before I start this wild ride again.

Frisk: "I wouldn't know. Do- you feel happier?"

Claire tilts her head in thought.

Claire: "Well- aside from the panic I felt a few minutes ago. I don't really feel much different. Maybe it wasn't long enough for your soul to have an effect on mine."

My mind briefly switches over to what the phone said.

Frisk: "Or- it could have something to do with this- 1 HP thing."

Claire places a hand on my head with a smile.

Claire: "I don't b-believe it is. Frisk, when you passed out last night; Miss Toriel n-nearly rose the temperature of the entire Ruins fretting about you. She- was afraid you may have fallen into a coma. She said- nothing can survive on their own with only 1 HP. But you w-were responsive to everything she was doing, a-and here you are, walking, talking, and surviving on your own. I-if that's not the product of a strong soul I don't know what is."

She's- so confident. I have to, I can't help it. I may not have a chance again.

I give a seductive smile.

Frisk: "Well Claire, say more stuff like that and I may give you more than a hug."

Claire: "Eh? W-what would you give me?"

This is too easy. I gotta! I gotta!

I move closer to the moth with my eyes half-lidded. My smile never leaving my face. I lean in and whisper.

Frisk: "Anything you want, you smooth-talker you."

I then give her a small kiss on the cheek. The moth blushes then-

Claire: "P!"

She, redder than a tomato rushes out of the door. Accidentally barreling through Vi sending him spinning around in place.

Claire: "I'm too young!"

I hear the front door slam against the wall as Claire makes another panicked squeal. I know I probably shouldn't be laughing. But what can I say? I promised myself that if I ever had a chance to have a conversation with a Whimsun I would try to flirt with her. It might be an odd goal, but- my main goal always gets undone. So now I make odd goals instead. It helps liven up the state my life had become. Vi stops spinning after nearly 10 full rotations, and falls face-first on the floor with an exasperated "kero" sound.

 _Personal: Flirting with the Fearful_ _Complete_

I'm still laughing when Vi woke up again. He looks at me pointedly. Or as pointedly as he could with his wobbly gaze. The look is cold enough to stop me. So instead I grin lightly, trying my best to not anger the frog more.

Frisk: "Hey Vi, how's crimes?"

Vi shakes himself out of his stupor.

Vi: "(Well, it seems you're not going to rest.)"

He lightens up.

Vi: "(I just got word from my brothers that Miss. Toriel left the grocery store. She'll be here soon.)"

There's a strange feeling behind his voice.

It seems... sad?

 _Important: The Lady of Nettles_ _Updated_

 _Meta: For the Fallen ("Palisade" Run)_ _Created_

Vi: "(Do you need anything before we go?)"

I shake my head. The frog nods in acknowledgment.

I follow him out the door into the hallway. His somber attitude is now starting to scare me.

Frisk: "H-hey, you don't really need to leave if you don't want to. I'm sure Toriel would let you guys stay if you want."

Vi: "( Can't speak for Claire. But I have business I need to tend to in a few hours.)"

Frisk: "Ah, ok."

It's probably not a good time to pry. He seems to be pretty upset.

We reach the front door and I grab onto it to keep it open. Vi sighs quietly.

Vi: "(Wait, close the door for a second. I need to talk to you about something.)"

I close the door slowly and face the frog.

He shakes his head and began.

Vi: "(When I was a tadpole, my parents pretty much told me not to give the time of day to humans. And made me promise that when I became a Final Froggit I would attack any human I find. Unsurprisingly I didn't really know what a human was, so they told me all sorts of horrifying things about them. More importantly what they would do to me if they caught me. Like, if they find me they will cut me open and pull out my innards. Or they would remove my legs and cook them. Or even make me wear a top hat and dance the can-can. You know, stuff like that. The jury is still out on me if any of that is true or not. You and Ed are the only humans I've seen, and you guys seem like good people. But my brothers, more importantly the one that did become Final Froggits, well- they are pretty ingrained to distrust humans. And after what the puppet did yesterday. They believe they have a justification to break BNC and take matters into their own hands. That- coupled with everyone else who lost loved ones. You see where I'm going with this?)"

I really want to comfort this frog but I can't help but look down at the floor.

Frisk: "I'm in danger."

Vi nodded. "(They won't go after Toriel. She's too scary for anyone to try attacking on their own. But- there's always monsters with ambition. So- I'm going to warn you now. If you can, you should probably leave the Ruins as soon as you're able.)"

Frisk: "With 1 HP."

Vi: "(I said "if you're able".)"

Frisk: "Well, what about Ed?"

Vi deadpans. Right, he destroyed a wall.

Frisk: "Sorry, that was a dumb question."

Vi: "(Right, also, everyone knows Toriel loves humans, so try not to give more evidence to go here than they already have.)"

She doesn't love humans, she loves children. There's a difference. Not that it matters though. The murderer is tied to the tree outside. There's going to be a dang monster mash here if the froggits have their way.

Frisk: "I'll try. Thanks for the warning."

Vi nods again. "(I'll try to keep you informed. And as far as I know Claire didn't lose anyone so maybe the Whimsalots won't join the mob if it does form.)"

Claire: "Actually if they b- believe the cause is just, they will. Sorry Frisk."

Vi and I look up at the moth upside-down on the ceiling in between a few stalactites. She's still has pink in her cheeks.

Vi: "(You know I don't remember asking you a Dog-dang thing.)"

Claire: "I- I know more about my sisters than you do, Mr. Stone Gullet."

Vi: "(Ah go cry in the creek bed, maybe the water'll rise.)"

Vi refocuses on me while Claire squeaks in indignation.

Vi: "(I'll keep in touch.)"

He then began hopping away before Claire could think of another comeback. Leaving her to just mutter under her breath.

Claire: "Urh, he's so infuriating sometimes."

Vi disappears back into the puzzle plaza and I turn back to Claire. Who slowly fluttered down to me.

Claire: "Hey, I- I have to go too. My sisters will get worried if I miss lunch. Will you b-be alright until Miss. Toriel comes back?"

I nod. It seems to hide my fear well enough for the moth to accept. Unfortunately I hear my stomach growl and the moth's feeler rise up in surprise.

Claire: "You didn't eat the pie?"

Frisk: "Ruin Snails."

The moth nods in understanding. She then materializes two spider donuts in her hands.

Claire: "I still have these if you want them."

I accept them and give her my sultry look again.

Frisk: "Affection increased by 10."

The moth returned to her red hue and immediately shifted to the side.

Claire: "I-I-Igottagonow!Seeyoulaterbye!"

Before I know it, she flees to the puzzle plaza as well.

I giggle a little as I head back into Toriel's house.

Oh, why do the good ones always run?


End file.
